by Paul Vermeersch
In the end, the Reverse Wolf enters another body. First
it coalesces in the compost of leaf litter, from mosses
and fruiting bodies, from masses of fungal filaments knitting
subterranean threads, flowing now into its wolf form.
The coat of the Reverse Wolf sprouts outside its body
and grows inward, piercing its hide like five million
fine needles. The Reverse Wolf regurgitates little girls
wearing red outerwear and sees them safely home
where it is killed and skinned, and its skin is hanged—
four limbs indicating four winds like the tips of a kite—
on the back of the door. The Reverse Wolf never gazes
at the stars. The gaze goes the other way. Such big stars!
The wolf flow reverses. The stars are gone. Whenever
the moon isn’t full, the Reverse Wolf will shed its hair,
will stride on its hind legs, will climb aboard a flying
machine, will fire live rounds at its pack from the sky.
Paul Vermeersch works as a poet, multimedia artist, creative writing professor, and literary editor. He has poetry recently published or forthcoming in Rhino Poetry, Gargoyle Magazine, Contemporary Verse 2, among others publications. He is the author of seven poetry collections, most recently Shared Universe: New and Selected Poems 1995-2020. A new collection is slated for fall 2025. Paul holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph for which he received the Governor General’s Gold Medal. He teaches in the Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College where he is the editor-in-chief of The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing. He is also the senior editor of Wolsak and Wynn Publishers where he created the poetry and fiction imprint Buckrider Books. He lives in Toronto