That morning, I slipped my head
into the mouth of the gift horse.
It was dark, but warm & familiar.
Wet as eyes. Torso is to head as.
Or no. I mean something else.
My head slipped in as I was
looking. Why bother with lying
by the river. Under the starburst.
A little cursed hunger for your
morning constitutional. Right
before the dream was another
dream which made this dream
seem more or less real. More.
Or less real. More real. Or less.
The animals are missing. Or will
will soon be, will soon have been.
Nicole Callihan’s most recent book is chigger ridge (The Word Works 2024). Other books include This Strange Garment (Terrapin 2023) and the 2019 novella, The Couples. She also co-edited the Braving the Body anthology published by Harbor Editions in March 2024. Her work has appeared in The Kenyon Review, Tin House, Conduit, The American Poetry Review, and as a Poem-a-Day selection from the Academy of American Poets. Winner of an Alma Award, her next book, SLIP, will be published by Saturnalia in 2025. Find out more at www.nicolecallihan.com.
