Vanessa Thill. Bivouac

About

Caressing, wounding 
touch of cloth
mouse-meet, crawl around it 
taking small bites
lucky me, to hold her shape
huge mammalian snake
muscling up salt crags

She twisted toward me
vining, opening
numinous hell flower 

The pelted-up wreckage of a bear tarp
cored, taken over from the inside
this cave I went into didn’t exist
Ox-all, Washenol, Mistolín
Shearling, Kyoto, Wyoming

And, clean her teeth with a nail 
wait with tense unknowing
craning, like a new pet owner
for whimpers or claw clacks—