HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO CONFLICT ❋ Adèle Barclay

Like I’ve stumbled across a bear
I can’t imagine throwing things
By the river I make a fist
And water evaporates into stars
That shoot a sad missive against the current
I want a fixed spot around
Which to tetherball my needs
Lions signal fidelity
But trauma braces like a tiger’s dead stare
Last May in parc Laurier Klara
And I made a caffeinated blood pact
To dedicate our lives to poetry
Chucked everything else
Into the Saint Lawrence
My stomach conducted electricity—
Either I found my limits
Or my cruelty