“Metamorphosis” by Nina Cassian:
How long is it since
deer antlers grew on my forehead
and, on my behind, a salamander’s tail?Today,
I am neutered,
or become a domestic fowl.
I submit to conventions,
I eat regularly—
and I sleep—
my beak in my feathers.
(From Continuum: Poems © 2008 by Nina Cassian. Used by permission of W.W.Norton & Company. Photo by Crista Rowe)
The Dish 