Overlaps and speciation: Ligers, minotaurs, labradoodles,
guppies that glow,
The many shapes of finches’ beaks.
Red hair of Neanderthals.
Every culture puts one animal’s head
on another animal’s body
And teaches their young
to fear it.
S.D. Dillon has an MFA from Notre Dame and lives in Michigan. His poetry has appeared recently in Tampa Review, Door = Jar, Panorama, ephemeras, #Ranger, and The Shortlist: Best of BarBar 2024, and is forthcoming in The Phare, Bloodroot, and elsewhere. He can be found on Instagram at @sddillon50.
