Prey

I creep along the creek bed

Foxtail ferns tickle my legs

Wobbly steps on rough river stones

Keep going

He’s watching

I’m not paranoid

I know this feeling

One blistered foot in front of the other

Don’t get caught

Pine warbler sings overhead

Vibrant yellow and flash of wings

Another swoops in

Her mate

Flitting and chattering

Nest building?

Plans to start a family?

Should we build here?

Is this a good neighborhood?

Jake and me, same conversation

Long ago...

We hunted for the perfect place

Nothing to his liking

Schools not good enough

Too far from downtown

Too close to my parents

No way forward

But we did when

I got pregnant

Didn’t mean to deceive

Was he my ride or die ?

The pine warblers quiet

A red tail hovers

Wingspan throwing shade

Hawks need to eat too

Look fella, snacks perched above me

Damn, that’s fucked up

Any parasitic cowbirds nearby?

Ones that lay eggs in other bird nests

Do hawks hunt other predators?

Falcons? Owls? Kestrals?

Maybe Shrikes…

Diabolical Shrikes

Leaving prey crucified on barbed wire

Mother Earth buffs spout nonsense of

Kindness and tolerance in nature

Phooey

I know better

Female praying mantises decapitate their mates

Wish I’d done that

History’s written by the victors

Why pretend otherwise?

Footfalls nearby… dead leaves crunch

He won’t give up… too much at stake

I lied

I stole

I left

So many deadly sins

No chance at those Pearly Gates

Heave myself forward…

Expanding belly perched

Against a mighty oak

Six months gone

Would have shriked me

If given the chance

Remember every degrading moment

Before running

Baby and body proof

Of that entanglement

Hidden in the Heights

Nowhere near anyone

Kept out of sight

Waiting for

My deliverance

After that….

I'd be dispensable.

Escaped early morning for

Cleveland’s Emerald Necklace of

Abundant trails and lush vegetation

He knows these parks too

Am I running in circles?

Can’t go to the police

He’s one of them

Head south, maybe

There’s a chance

Patrol cars drive by

Sirens on

Hunting

Soon he’ll send the dogs

“Pre-partum depression,” he’ll say

Don’t matter if everyone else believes

Last time at the hospital,

He had our story set

Too scared to fight

I hoist the backpack

Onto aching shoulders

Full of cash and documents

His cash… and proof

Of things he wants to keep secret

Up ahead…

Woman with a beagle

I borrow her phone

Recall Aunt Ida’s number

Scurry back under cover

Waiting...

Sirens wail

Tires screech

To a halt

Dogs bark as

Doors fly open

I dive,

Backpack, belly and all

Into the creek

Not giving up

Not yet