LOUISA MUNIZ
Spirit Animal
Somehow, wolf, all that pacing in the wilderness
beyond the meadow finally has my attention.
No longer can I ignore the stalking back & forth.
Why won’t you let up? Reveal yourself.
In the world between worlds the veil is thinnest now
where spirit & body commingle.
Although the icy thigh of winter nears
I’ve kept you small in the seed of my belly.
I am prepared to shape-change, follow
sacred instincts as the sky hails the sea.
I am prepared to recast my shadows
in fire rings around the moon.
When the sun settles, lead me
to the well between the tall pines.
Here we will balm old scar tissue
gather up lost bones hidden underworld.
Through night wind we will resurrect our heart
back to our heart, sing our voice back to song.
Moonstruck & soul-footed
in animal loveliness
we will sprint across muddy waters,
where the river beneath the river softens.
Louisa Muniz lives in Sayreville, N.J. She holds a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Kean University. Her work has appeared in Tinderbox Journal, Palette Poetry, Menacing Hedge, Poetry Quarterly, PANK Magazine, Jabberwock Review and elsewhere. She won the Sheila-Na-Gig 2019 Spring Contest for her poem Stone Turned Sand. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize. Her debut chapbook, After Heavy Rains by Finishing Line Press was released in December, 2020.