The Animals in My Name
by Sara Backer

The Animals in My Name

The bear, my big self, lumbers
into hibernation, relishing the fit
of a grass-padded den and winter
dreams. I’m feared for my teeth,
but I’m the one who runs away, happy
to climb any tree that will hold me.

The crab is my small self. No feelings,
no soul. All claws and crust, ambition,
critique. I scuttle and pinch. I crack.
I’m cracked.

My bear and my crab crawl the night sky:
rectangular dippers, an upside-down Y.
Outside and within me, my nemeses,
my guides, my water, my earth.

Published in Cider Press Review

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