"If love were a predator," by McKenzie Hager

If love were a predator,I’d let it hunt me down.While it prowled,I’d shuffle the leavesjust enough to be heard.I’d welcome the weightof its body against mine.And when it struck,I’d go down smiling—Let it take me.Let it tear me open.Let me blissfully bleed my life awayas its mouth claimed the tender fleshof my thigha mark not of death,but devotion.Because life without loveis just survivalanyway.-M.L.More from McKenzie Hager ↓@lavendermorbs on InstagramHer book, Ink, Grace, and F-Bombs, is out now.Listen to me read another poem by McKenzie on Instagram @rembrandts.cure