Cannibal” - Cressida Blake Roe

CANNIBAL &UHVVLGD%ODNH5RH¶

Wait

Because even though I’m not ready for you That doesn’t mean I can

Bear to watch your back— A softness disturbed by the points Of shoulder blades—

Disappear from my vision ––Two eyes, a world––Tunneled into my carnivore’s face

My anchored head cannot swivel On the plinth of my neck Weighted, draggled by my jowls

I’m sorry my words I’m sorry my face Can’t keep you here

This affectation of apology Baits you with weakness; can it Bring you between my open jaws?

7HHWKVXQNHQLQWR\RXUOHDWKHUÁHVK Tongue dried on your blood Be my ghost and remind me of matter

Wait

Additionally,

you may ask, what was the price of agreement? A simple word, Yes, far easier to form, than No—a hard knock against the hard palate—it pressures, it hurts. Yes sounds so much simpler, so soft, sibilant, sliding out through the gaps between teeth; lips barely parted for articulation. Withholding the word meant withholding the breath; how long can a woman survive without air? How long must we persist without Breathing, before the heaving of lungs can resume without the danger of syllables?