by J.D. Isip 

(“The Curtain I Have Drawn for You” mobile version)

Nellis AFB, 1994

Half-a-dozen pairs of gold eyes refract the moon
or the bug-smeared spot glowing against the nose and wing
of my evening charge, an F-16 polished and loved
to a gleam, even after midnight

They scuttle nearer, wide ears twisting, a curiosity
both admirable and terrifying. I toss the ham sandwich to them,
while my free hand flips the safety—ridiculous
to draw my weapon, or think of it,

Facing a family of kit foxes, probably starving,
no more dangerous than alley cats or New York rats, or fear
you will be seen, you will forget yourself, disarm
like Samson, at just the moment

All about you the harmless sharpen teeth and claws,
whet with hiding fear, hunger, confusion at this unnatural
body casting itself like bait, swift bodies swim after
in the dark, only the gnashing tiny jaws

And the inevitable return of their eyes.

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J.D. Isip’s full-length poetry collections include Kissing the Wound (Moon Tide Press, 2023) and Pocketing Feathers (Sadie Girl Press, 2015). His third collection, tentatively titled I Wasn’t Finished, will be released by Moon Tide Press at the end of 2024 or early 2025. J.D. teaches at Collin College in Plano, Texas, where he lives with his dogs, Ivy and Bucky.

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