A Gift

A fox, a fox, a fox, a fox leaping,
its brilliant red and orange a flame
across winter’s green already beginning
to spring itself as earth spins
towards sun; what great secrets
to know where to run, where to plant,
where to seek, where to lope,
it is all right there, for all. Every urge
is green. Every urge is me
greening out because I am
alive watching a fox, at full pace, dashing
like the signature of a poet
or a girl you knew once,
in class, who spelled out her name.

Cassandra Whitaker (she/they) is a trans writer from Virginia whose work has been published in Michigan Quarterly Review, Beestung, Conjunctions, and other places. They are a member of the National Book Critics Circle and an educator. Wolf Devouring A Wolf Devouring A Wolf is forthcoming from Jackleg Press in 2025.

Published January 15 2024