runtsong
Anne Pepper

it had its teeth
clipped upon
birth, grabbed

upsidedownwind
by its spiralling
tail, dripping

stink in rivulets
of dark earth. A
deep pitch, tiny

echo and it
grunts, piggly
smooches on air.

next the tail is
singed, a start
and a leftover meat.

how I feel its
heart pulse, a fine
string drawn tight

across my breast,
again, again. Reminds
one of practicing

on black piano keys, hammering
out the time, metronome
in background, quick and white.

© Anne Pepper