Crocodile Contrapuntal

We had stood there                                                        only yesterday

with the dogs                                                                  untethered to us

to wallow in the sight of                                       dozens of manatees

crowning                                                                         as eager as newborns

Now a crocodile rests                                                   in the wintry light

on the dollop of sand                                                   where the Florida softshell turtles

with triptychs of claws                                                  climb up to lay eggs

The neighbors post on                                                  NextDoor

how to tell the difference between                               an alligator and a crocodile

the U and V snout                                                           orthodontic grin and lightning-strike underbite

We warn each other                                                         which one embodies unpredictability

which one is more fossilized, older                                and who is more likely to eat              

errant pets or toddlers                                                      We ask

Has anyone called                                                              Florida Fish and Wildlife

This is, after all, how                                                       to relocate problem crocodiles

We ensure those                                                               who dare move

from their habitats                                                            into our sedated environment

are nothing too wild                                                         and remain that way

A 2024 National Poetry Series finalist, Jen Karetnick is the author of 11 collections of poetry, including Inheritance with a High Error Rate (January 2024), the winner of the 2022 Cider Press Review Book Award. The co-founder and managing editor of SWWIM Every Day, she has recent or forthcoming work in Cimarron Review, NELLE, Pleiades, Plume, Shenandoah, Sixth Finch, South Dakota Review, Verse Daily, and elsewhere. See jkaretnick.com.