Hop

Lest
An arthritic memory
Of trees
And barebacked mates
Creep up her tendons
She shall
In a whopping
Crescendo of habit
Resign
Her hind limbs to
The splayed meanings
Of this game of Hop.

Feet shall,
Over conditioned jerks,
And falls, work,
Lest
She be swept over
By her being
That need be fed
And fetched
And tended,
Lest,
An ambition
-unchecked-
Spring up
Her forelimbs
To leap
And bound away
And regain
Wild-her-nesses.

The author wishes to stay anonymous and does not wish to use an alias.

Illustration by Shalini