Alert, but with heavy eyelids
The briefest of wars begins
Pith under the fingernails
Don’t let any juice escape
Take it all off in one piece
The clementine lies naked
Conquered
Pick the last scraps of pith away
Then squelch, squelch
Between the teeth
Unheard
Taste the acid and the sugar
Pretend the eyelids are a little lighter
There’s juice on the table
Let it soak in
A salve for the bare wood
Drink more water
And rush away
To everything else
This moment
Was not a moment
Most likely
And this calm
Only comes
If it’s put there
With purpose
Fingers stinging
From the pith under the nails
Will soon forget
And the mind only remembers
When it half-imagines memories
Through heavy eyelids
At the other end of the candle
About the Creator
Violet P. Davies
Words make me feel fulfilled occasionally.
Keep track of me on Insta @purpleproseandposies
Keep reading
More stories from Violet P. Davies and writers in Poets and other communities.
Snacktime Sonata Challenge Winners
Well, your Snacktime Sonatas made us hungry, and that’s about the highest compliment we have. Food — taste, smell, sensation — is a powerful conduit to the past, to memories pleasurable and painful and sometimes bittersweet, a mixture of comfort and challenge. Congratulations to Penny Fuller for Sativa — it’s a first win for Penny — a hymn to the “secret, unbounded/freedoms” of fresh peas in the pod. The narrative voice of the poem doesn’t really want to be outside, but finds joy in the green things of the earth; this is a lovely work of resilience.
By Vocal Team6 days ago in Resources
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.