Brace the sand in jackal black:
I will hold you
in these four paws, so alabaster soft
I will carry you
on this soft fur that is dark as the eternal night
and I will guard the scales
against harsh winds and words that would bear soft down away

Let the sand embrace you:
I will watch over you
in jackal black robes
as you lie sleeping
in the desert’s womb

[Alexandra Seidel probably caught the myth and fairy tale bug while she was out in the woods one midsummer day. Meanwhile, the disease has turned her into a Rhysling-nominated poet, a writer and editor. Her first collection of stories and poems, All Our Dark Lovers, is forthcoming from Morrigan Books on Valentine’s Day 2013. Other work may be found in Mythic Delirium, Goblin Fruit, Stone Telling, and elsewhere. You can follow her on Twitter (@Alexa_Seidel) or read her blog.]