ALLERGIES TO FLESH FRUITS

By Georgia Bailey

i’ve       seriously     tried to    swallow you        before .

        The   pips were     the hardest    parts ,

  rolling          on my tongue

                           and     my teeth    were strainers

rinsing my mouth     of   all     your          pulp .

    i thought        you would taste                           sweet ,

  But      i’m allergic       to flesh          fruits.

The searing      took to my gums ,     like   razors     enticing     blood .

              still,    eating                           around  the    pit —

    Like       i’d mistaken   mesocarp   for        metacarpus —

     i    washed  my         mouth    

         with     all the juice .

    drops       ran         down     my canines     like the curve

                                                           of   a   waning moon ;

    this      is    just       what i do      to   indulge.

i can’t say       ‘i need  you’ ;          so then ,     like   a    parasite ,

         i          eat you      inside  out .

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