no woman's land

WOUNDED ANIMAL COMPLEX

why do we always forget our ability to harm
once we are harmed? does a wounded animal become
less wounded because it remembers it has teeth? in theory,
we should be able to tell the difference between a hunter
and a healer, a savior and a slaughterer, a predator
and a prey animal. but in practice, everyone looks like a butcher
when you are already bleeding—even your own mother,
lover, friend, sister, brother, father, child, even strangers,
even yourself.