I was here before
in the earth's empty stomach
grave of emotions -

Though half alive
I called it the world
before the panther ate me

piece by piece yet I am
whole trapped in his belly
far from home as he roams

from bush to bush or climbs
the highest branch - feline blackness flattens

my bones and yellow eyes pierce
inward until I become flesh of his
flesh in the wilderness that is ours -