they’ll drop dead
without warning:
a chicken or a rabbit
though they’ve been
dying for weeks
but prey don’t show
weakness like a dog
yet if I’m predator
eyes jutting forward
then why do I hide
my sickness, grief
as surface tension
at rim of eyes
she cried over a kitten
the night after hitting it
but had no tears for the dog
she clipped the year before
the mutt hobbled into a field
of juvenile corn stalks
and I watched her get out
hands on hips as she stared
into the dusk and the corn
headlights on, radio still playing