You want me to feel safe
︎︎︎ Juliette Jeffers
︎ Jan 15, 2024
I say there is no such thing as safety
not between us, that sex is never safe, nor is love.
Within and without the cocoon of your house
we are in danger.
You say I sound like I want to carry a gun.
The only thing you can do is protect yourself.
Refrain from making unnecessary eye contact
unless it’s with the offspring of a powerful man
or the driver of an oncoming vehicle
but that of course is the moment in which you are most in danger
so your defense must be like a twitching rabbit in the yard at dusk
that lets you approach slowly
then kicks up its legs,
turns to pure motion and then pure shadow.
Do you really see yourself as prey?
Maybe I do.
Maybe I believe God is my gun.
You say I sound like someone who already carries a gun.
not between us, that sex is never safe, nor is love.
Within and without the cocoon of your house
we are in danger.
You say I sound like I want to carry a gun.
The only thing you can do is protect yourself.
Refrain from making unnecessary eye contact
unless it’s with the offspring of a powerful man
or the driver of an oncoming vehicle
but that of course is the moment in which you are most in danger
so your defense must be like a twitching rabbit in the yard at dusk
that lets you approach slowly
then kicks up its legs,
turns to pure motion and then pure shadow.
Do you really see yourself as prey?
Maybe I do.
Maybe I believe God is my gun.
You say I sound like someone who already carries a gun.
Juliette Jeffers is a poet and writer living in NYC. She is currently working on her MFA at NYU. Her writing can also be found in Interview Magazine and Delude Magazine.