FERAL POETRY Feral (adj.). < L. fera, wild animal < ferus, fierce. 1. Untamed; wild. 2. Savage. 3. Having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication. Traditional poetry, like the pig, is a domesticated beast. It can be managed, categorized, kept in a pen, and fed on table scraps. It tastes like bacon. Feral poetry, on the other hand, is wild, like a peccary. It roams free. It can’t be trained, and it won’t come when it’s called. It will raid your trash can, dig up your garden, chase your children and small dogs. These are feral poems. They are short, they take lots of line breaks, and sometimes they even rhyme. But just because they look like poetry doesn’t mean they are poetry. Their behaviors—the ways they go a’ wandering—are unexpected and unpredictable. They don’t follow conventions or rules. To appreciate them, you must follow them home, to where they live, out there in the wilderness.