creature i’ve begotten 

while you go to town, o pain,
i rediscover the old altar we made
in the woods, the well to drop
daughters in

breaking it down, i decide from now on
to only wear the ragged things you bring me
i like it when the wind
riddles my tatters

on your return you announce
i wish to be cradled

i say
i’d prefer to write an easier thing

Jill Khoury writes on gender, disability, and embodied identity. She holds an MFA from The Ohio State University and edits Rogue Agent, a journal that features poetry and art of the body. She has written two chapbooks—Borrowed Bodies (Pudding House, 2009) and Chance Operations (Paper Nautilus, 2016). Her debut full-length collection, Suites for the Modern Dancer, was released in 2016 from Sundress Publications. Find her at jillkhoury.com.