Nevertold
I took him for his wildness –
a bite to the back of the neck
dead in bed a playful nibble
of my bare shoulder for breakfast.
He gave me pounding heartbeats,
fluttering charms of blue and gold
to hold in my palms like wishes
then let go. And later, furs –
rabbit, squirrel, black-tipped guards
and undercoats of lush afternoons.
I filleted the freezer and scared men
with a rare smile, but the one
for sorrow was one, two, many.
He is less familiar to me now.
Jane Murray Bird lives in Edinburgh and studied creative writing with the Open University in Scotland, gaining a first-class honours degree while home-educating her children. Her poetry has appeared in magazines including Magma, Mslexia and Under the Radar