My heart, a jackal
becoming wild,
for beholding
at a distance.⠀
I wake up unrelenting.
I stay that way forever.⠀
No sound but a siren
from my mouth.
I sit in the stain
and gnash at myself.⠀
All animal, I go
crepuscular, I get
ravaging. I’m at
my best, my worst
with tangled hair
I wear rabbit and
feathers and kitten
heels to stalk myself.
I treat the party
like my own personal
savanna, nevermind⠀
the odors, or the smokers,
pretending not to notice
me, hunting, prowling.⠀
I will continue my life
as canid until I can’t.⠀
Until then, until then–
My heart is a jackal.
My heart is a small
and childish thing.
Jane Feinsod is a poet and educator living in Philadelphia, PA. She received her MFA from UMass Amherst, where she was named a Rose Fellow. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Booth, The Arkansas International, phoebe, and elsewhere.