The Maynard
Fall 2020

Harvest This Body

          to love is to harvest
the fruits of a past life
          in another place
to take note of what nourished
          the women and women
and women before you

          to taste a chikoo
sliced lengthwise by old hands
          its slick feminine interior
soft golden flesh sweeter
          than the hollows of a honeycomb
its black seed eyes glint with secrets

          to slip between fingers
rinds that peel too easily
          curl and trail citrus mist
of plump kinnows
          that glow like sun-warmed orbs
smudging the saltwater in the sky
          and the milk of the moon

          to split a pomegranate
swollen and heaving
          sinewy membrane jeweled
with ruby seeds that bleed
          and die between your lips
like life in the marrow

          to suck on a mango teat
dripping with bloodline nectar
          loose sticky flesh
offering up something terribly tender
          and soothing to a wet tongue
nourishing the pilgrimage of the body.