Nest

Jessica Wallace is a writer and content strategist for Data with a Soul in Burnaby, BC. Her poetry and short fiction has been published in several international magazines, including the Antigonish Review, 3AM Magazine, Orbis International Literary Journal and 14 Magazine. She received her MA in Creative Writing from the University of Sussex in 2011 and also holds undergraduate degrees in English Literature and Psychology.

"Nest" was originally published in Mslexia magazine.

Nest

I'm ready. In my palm: tufts of dry grass drizzled
with saliva paste. Between my lips: twigs

you smell like the inside of a suitcase
and you stain everything with ink

I bury my toes into the dirt of your front yard
where your perennials make their cyclical visits

in amongst the roots, I try to make room
for appendages to burrow and sink

while you peek out the window, relenting - I see it
I unpack my bags on your front step

I mouth, I'm ready, through the glass while
hanging clothes from your mailbox ledge

and then: curled beside you, I move one finger
only slightly to remember which set is mine and try

nearly hard enough to blink away
the escape route tracing its way along your spine