KRISTIN LUEKE

i’ve been alive all this time & all i got was this emerging sense of self-possession

yes you can
disturb the dinner table.

throw hands at a lamb.
curse a calm what never
spoke your whole name.

breathe louder at 5 am,
any time. take up space
or your scythe, whatever
is nearest.

make a word you always needed.
say no or never or who precisely
—be specific—
do you think you are.

you’ve explained yourself years
into understanding, darling
why not show us
your teeth.

Kristin lives in northern New Mexico. She didn’t always now she does. Her work’s in Sixth Finch, Wildness, HAD, Maudlin House, Frozen Sea, some other places. She writes at theanimaleats.com.