Let us pretend there is no mystery in strawberries,
\nthat we know precisely what floods the flesh so enticingly red,
\ncoloring summer with a crimson flush, a violent bloom
\namid the cool earth greens.
\nLet us knowingly say the unabashed hue comes
\nfrom ripeness for eating, and there is no more meaning
\nto the deep red so like our hidden internalities,
\nwhich we feign ignorance of while complacently stroking
\nthe shield of our outer flesh.
\nLet us declare the finger-stains of picking are superficial,
\nand are washed away when our hands are clean;
\nthat the strawberry juice has not already penetrated below the dermis
\nso that our own blood runs redder,
\nintoxicated and giddy with the inbred sugar of fruit;
\nlet us feign that we see no connection
\nin the perfect way a single strawberry nestles in the human mouth,
\nto bring memories of feeding lovers and butter light,
\nromances that never were, and cool saucers in the evening.
\nAnd lastly, let us make believe
\nwhile the fields are still heavy with the lush season of ripeness
\nthat the bruises on the tender skin do not hurt us, too,
\nthat we don’t notice time playing decay on that succulent red.
\nLet us insist to ourselves, assuredly, continuously,
\nthat our own hearts are not already burst
\nas the short-lived strawberry loses its firmness on the earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let us pretend there is no mystery in strawberries . . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3782,"template":"","categories":[9,49,119],"tags":[859,1123,283,1124,216],"class_list":["post-3781","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aquifer","category-literary-features","category-poetry","tag-bodies","tag-cleo-qian","tag-mortality","tag-strawberries","tag-summer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n