sour cherry - nat raum

i split infinitives because you

told me it’s okay that’s latin’s problem

not ours thirty-five days i’ve ripened

soft flesh gives way to mealy stone fruit

(hold me gently or i’ll collapse please)

blinking like pushing the lever

on a viewmaster black and white

freeze frames from reels i’d love to burn

ligatured by scarlet fantasies sangria dreams

supercede whiskey nightmares (lest i forget them

for some reason) kissing on the settee

mouldered hips alive again it’s okay

Originally published by with confetti

nat raum (b. 1996) is a disabled artist, writer, and genderless disaster from Baltimore, MD. They’re a current MFA candidate, the editor-in-chief of fifth wheel press, and the author of you stupid slut (Dream Boy Book Club) and specter dust (Bullshit Lit), among others. Find them online: natraum.com/links.