Husbandry Manual

 
 
 
In the tank, they let you touch her

slime-slick arms uncoiling

for yours, your hands going white

in the cold water. Her body

is a different kind of a metal,

a copper bracelet wrapped around

your wrist. She could pick you up

like nothing, hold you so still and close

you forget the air.

A body like hers never forgets

the violence of survival.

She could disappear

through a crack in the glass.

She could take your eyes.
 
 
 

Danielle Weeks received her MFA in poetry through Eastern Washington University's creative writing program, where she also served as the poetry editor for Willow Springs. Her work has been published in Cobalt Review,Hayden's Ferry Review, and Nashville Review, among others.