Trillium

the animal in me

is constant.

thirst starts,

hunger answers.

sleep is uncertain,

restless limbs.

in the night,

I hear footsteps.

warnings appear,

all signs say death.

still I crave

cigarettes, coffee.

exhaustion brings

repetition, life cycles.

cold follows me,

something waits.

telegraphs move faster

than my heart.

I stay primitive,

gestate in trilliums.

when the hunter

finds me, separate

I turn toward the blow,

bleat into sacrifice.

domesticated prey,

still wild enough to leap

against my instinct,

find my predatory drive

and tear the throat out

of what chases me.