[Polaroid of]

[Polaroid of] Katie Jean Shinkle (bio) I knowyou aren't tryingto go thereto wrap your armsaround branchesa trunkbundles of flowerssnipped too soon & it must feel so niceto be wanted so much bysomeone you neverwanted in the first placeor maybe once wanted aback-door reach away here in this forestthis field overgrownif I haven't told you yetI regret it alleverything everything & I knowyou aren't trying to go therebut babywe never left the bedroom [End Page 173] Katie Jean Shinkle katie jean shinkle's books include Tannery Bay (coauthored with Steven Dunn, FC2/University of Alabama Press, 2024), and None of This is an Invitation (coauthored with Jessica Alexander, Astrophil Press, 2023). Awarded fellowships and residencies from Lambda Literary and Ragdale, she serves as co-poetry editor of DIAGRAM.