Sacred pause

Trust the huntress 

when she smells change

Something is different

in the place you called home

Believe the scent she picks up

it wasn’t here before

When no one else notices

they say it’s your imagination

he just smells different

when you live with him long enough

Trust the huntress

when her visceral whisper

catches in your gut

and you hold your breath

and you contract

you’ve said too much

Trust the huntress 

who hides herself

in brace of belly

clench of ribs

stone in throat

Trust the part of you that detects

the hint of things unsaid

who first put this fear in me?

For the ones who grew up around the hearth

closeness and safety smell the same

like gingerbread and home

To the huntress

raised in raven woods

closeness smells like danger

Trust the huntress

the part of you that knows 

his creeping reach of darkness 

is leeching on your light

he’s brought a chill 

you can’t unfeel

a flicker in the eye

turning warm body

to carcass

Trust the part of you that screams

I don’t want this scent on me

as it snakes

over skin

and private spaces

poison fog

sedating your senses

and you can’t breathe

and they say

why didn’t you just leave?

Trust the huntress

thunder in your heart

lightning in your bones

she’s been gathering

everything you need to know

Trust the huntress

whose silent tread

guides you through night

where traps are set

And when she turns

her smile says

shh

I learnt to track the hunter

by living with the wolves