"Devoured" by Wendy Wisner from JET FUEL REVIEW

Today's poem is by Wendy Wisner

Devoured

This morning, a black crow on a fence,
a piece of flesh dangling from its beak.
In the street beside it, roadkill, a body
torn open. I couldn't look long enough
to identify the animal. How do we decide
who gets to eat, who gets to be eaten?
Nights like these, I turn from you,
your skin against my skin makes me flinch.
It's nothing you did, nothing you didn't do.
I know I'm still the one you want
to consume. After I left the crow,
bright April morning thrust itself at me.
Lawnmowers roared. Redbud petals
fell onto my hair. I couldn't touch
any of it, but part of me wanted to lie
in the street and be devoured.

Copyright © 2025 Wendy Wisner All rights reserved
from Jet Fuel Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission

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