Jersey Tiger

Jersey Tiger

You don’t slink
your shoulders don’t ripple
like silk haunted by a breeze

you’re the flight of a dart
slipped free of the spear
now in your weakened state
search for the slimness
of your lost other half

you remember how together
you mastered velocity
spliced the air you sailed through

flying now
a resistance against falling
a flailing
keeping yourself from drowning
from being swallowed by sky

you don’t search at night
moon isn’t your memory

this ragged dance in daylight
comes at a cost
resting often
which is how we found you
wings stilled
upon the shadowed palm of a leaf

bright cream cracks
fractures the mirrored darkness
of your wings
hiding the fire
of your burning lungs

makes me wonder
how long were they closed?
how long staring at each other
in the lightless room
before peeling apart
printed with each other’s face