pretty thing come closer
your jaw so tense in the gardening aisle
I brush my knuckles against the
trigger hairs on your mouth, ask about your
waterwheel & sundew cousins,
when you last digested an arachnid, I
admire your hunger, the biology of it,
I read that it takes a tenth of a second
for your teeth to snap
Kelsey Day
pretty thing come closer
your jaw so tense in the gardening aisle
I brush my knuckles against the
trigger hairs on your mouth, ask about your
waterwheel & sundew cousins,
when you last digested an arachnid, I
admire your hunger, the biology of it,
I read that it takes a tenth of a second
for your teeth to snap
down but you don’t close your
lips around my thumb when I touch you
you like a certain kind of prey
don’t you
but you know your kind are
declining in the wilderness
not enough acid in the soil
we preserve you in the aisles like this one
we keep you alive
get in the cart
show me you’re grateful
show me how you want this
don’t you want something to eat
won’t you
open wide for me
Author: Kelsey Day
Kelsey Day is a queer Appalachian poet writing about land and liberation. Their writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Orion Magazine, Freeman’s and more. Their debut novel, The Spiral Key, will be published by Penguin Random House in February 2026. You can find them online at KelseyDays.com or on Instagram @KelseyDays.
Photo © Frisco 2024
View all posts by Kelsey Day
Powerful!!! “I admire your hunger” reverberates through a thousand layers of earth flesh. Beautiful, sensual and true. Kelsey Day is a stunningly gifted poet.