The Wild Kingdom Will Exact its Revenge by Eric Lochridge

At an inopportune time a man finds himself sharkless.

Also grizzly bearless.

Most certainly Tasmanian devilless.

How he got this far and lost them is beyond me.

Sure I have a swordfish writhing in the back corner of a drawer,

a cougar pacing out in the shed. Wolf in the garage.

They were useful in a pinch.

But the wild things you lose track of

come back to you with their paws out and toothy smiles.

There’s no escaping the intemperate

gleam in their eyes as they drag their vanquished prey

off the trail or into the depths of the sea

on what was supposed to be

the perfect vacation, the perfect getaway

for the so-called stewards of the Earth.

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Eric Lochridge’s debut full-length poetry collection is forthcoming from FutureCycle Press in 2022. He is author of three chapbooks: Born-Again Death Wish, Real Boy Blues, and Father’s Curse. His poems appear in DIAGRAM, Okay Donkey, Kissing Dynamite,Slipstream, and others. He lives in Bellingham, Washington. Find him on Twitter @ericedits.