by Kathryn Reilly
Camouflaged
as two rocks in an
endless sea
my nostrils rise
scenting for ships
Gullibility tastes divine,
their wood my fiber and
their crew decadent desserts;
whales and sharks and fish
staples all, but land dwellers’
terror sweetly spices sun-kissed flesh
Monsters measure my centuries:
when loneliness grows great
I conjure a child
all cunning and hunger;
parthenogenesis sparks and
manipulating matter I
birth monsters for every age:
Cirein-cròin and Jormungandr
Kraken and Leviathan
Labbu and Makara
Timingila and Umibozu and
and now one grows
within, unique,
equal to this modern age’s
sonars and metal ships;
her sides will slough sound waves
and swallowing the sea
regurgitation will dissolve steel hulls:
evolution to humble humans
She will feast
consuming cruise behemoths
inspiring mythtrue stories
By day, Kathryn helps students investigate the power of words and master grammar’s awesomeness. In the evenings, she reads retold myths, fairy tale mash-ups, and fae adventures when she isn’t breathing life into new ones herself. Her most recent work appears in Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas and Last Leaves literary journal. You can find her on Instagram @katecanwrite to see
what’s coming next. Her two rescue mutts, Savvie and Roxy Razzamatazz, hear all the stories first.
