God..what you still do to me
When will I just move on, already?
Why can't I just breathe?
And why is my heart so unsteady?

It leaps like a rabbit when you appear
And my mind races just like a gazelle
I turn into an animal when you're near
A creature of prey, under a predator's spell

Though I'm not sure if it's fear that I feel
But whether I'm angry, scared, or just anxious as hell
It's clear to me you've left wounds that won't heal
It seems my past just can't say it's farewell

But I will keep dragging myself away from you
Leaving this trail of blood behind
I will survive the pain I went through
Time for this prey to put you out of her mind

Yes, this little thing still goes on
Though your teeth have torn and shredded her
She'll live through what she's undergone
And maybe, just maybe, outrun this predator

I had a happy & sad childhood
Had great tragedies & greater triumphs
But nothing changed me
As much as women did

I had an eye for the special ones
Like the predator for the prey
Nice, Intelligent & truly beautiful girls
Who didn't know their worth yet.

Thirty
by Michael R. Burch

Thirty crept upon me slowly
with feline caution and a slowly-twitching tail;
she waited three decades for the winds to shift;
now, claws unsheathed, she lies ready to assail
her defenseless prey.

Keywords/Tags: thirty, age, aging, maturity, time, creep, creeping, ambush, feline, predator

evol-u-shun
by michael r. burch

does GOD adore the Tyger
while it’s ripping ur lamb apart?

does GOD applaud the Plague
while it’s eating u à la carte?

does GOD admire ur brains
while ur praying IT has a heart?

does GOD endorse the Bible
you blue-lighted at k-mart?

NOTES: In the segmented title “evol” is “love” spelled backwards. The title questions whether you have been shunned by a "God of love" or evolution. William Blake’s famous poem “The Tyger” questions the nature of a Creator who brings lambs and tigers into the same world. Keywords/Tags: god, love, evolution, coronavirus, plague, tyger, tiger, lamb, predator, prey, brains, heart, bible, K-Mart, blue light special

evol-u-shun
by michael r. burch

does GOD adore the Tyger
while it’s ripping ur lamb apart?

does GOD applaud the Plague
while it’s eating u à la carte?

does GOD admire ur brains
while ur claiming IT has a heart?

does GOD endorse the Bible
you blue-lighted at k-mart?

NOTE: In the segmented title “evol” is “love” spelled backwards. The title questions whether you/we have been shunned by a "God of Love" or by evolution. William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” questions the nature of a Creator who brings lambs and tigers into the same world. Keywords/Tags: god, love, evolution, coronavirus, plague, tyger, tiger, lamb, predator, prey, brains, heart, bible, K-Mart, blue light special

Polish
by Michael R. Burch

Your fingers end in talons—
the ones you trim to hide
the predator inside.

Ten thousand creatures sacrificed;
but really, what’s the loss?
Apply a splash of gloss.

You picked the perfect color
to mirror nature’s law:
red, like tooth and claw.

I thought about titling or subtitling this one “A mini-ode to manicure” but thought better of it. Please note that this poem is not about female predators but the way the human race “glosses over” its predatory nature. We may appear to be “civilized” but what are we doing to the planet and its other inhabitants? Keywords/Tags: polish, nails, talons, claws, predator, gloss, loss, red, tooth, claw, pollution, climate change, global warming, mass extinction, genocide