Confessions of a Champion Snipe Hunter

Linea Jantz

I learned the silenced falls were stolen
from a Wasco woman who sells stones for graves

her husband’s CPAP machine grunts and gasps through the night

I wasn’t even born innocent
not only my mother’s blood on my hands

cowpie bingo still takes a load of someone else’s shit to win

I ask the boy if he wants to go skinny dipping
I ask the boy if he’s ever hunted snipes

I wink and offer to take him

the local vegetarian wakes up, mailbox dripping blood
roadkill skunk

we all know who did it

the boy swears he loves me
I say nothing

when he calls

the lamprey opens his mouth
ring after ring after ring

of teeth

Linea Jantz has worked in roles including waste management, social services, teacher, and paralegal. Among other adventures, she taught Business English in Ukraine (pre-invasion) and helped film a short documentary about women entrepreneurs in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Her writing is featured in publications including Palette Poetry, Heavy Feather Review, Beaver Magazine, and EcoTheo Review. She is a reader for ONLY POEMS and volunteers in her community supporting youth writers and efforts to protect the Spokane River. Website: https://lineajantz.com/

Instagram: @lineajantz