By Jessica Swanson
the tough questions, like:
What part of yourself
would you give up for the one you love
and what part do you think your love
would give up for you?
Is your love also your lover
or are you still once-friends pretending
everything is just fine?
Why am I all at once lonely and full?
I’ve devoured everyone thus far,
little human.
Would you like if I devoured you?
And Baby Sphinx doesn’t ask this,
but she wonders why she can’t just
be one beast and be done with it—
why she’s got to be lioness
and woman all at once,
why she’s got to choose between
her heart and the heat rising
beneath her paws, between her legs.
Baby Sphinx shifts her hips, lashes her tail,
still waiting for the proper reply:
“Aren’t you offering?”
Instead, treated to yet another handsome carcass.
Jessica Swanson (she/her) is a librarian and a writer from Florida. She has a fondness for cats, cheese, and hot tea. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Dog Teeth Lit, Voidspace Zine, Hearth & Coffin, and others. Follow her on X/Twitter at Cooljazsheepie or Instagram at everystupidstar.
