poppy seeds

fingers caught in industrial gears, shattered like pencils  (running, running — faster, faster)  to drown in molasses would be delightful  (walk through the alleyway)  no kiss for daddy?  (mind your step)  dismissed servants over spilt merlot  (turn right here)  fattened figs can fall before the rich pay taxes  (don't look at the man in the street)  oh, birds of emeralds and jealousy  (just a little further)  eve suffered while beer clung to men’s matted beards  (pass me the key)  goodbyes taste like lemons (close the door)

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Isabella Melians (she/her) is a 16-year-old sophomore attending school in south Florida. She is the vice president of her school's writing club, "The Writer's Circle", and has been acknowledged by publications including Cathartic Youth Literary Magazine, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, The Weight Journal, Same Faces Collective, The Raindrop Magazine, Ice Lolly Review, and other reviewers. In her free time, she enjoys playing the cello, watercolor painting, and fostering with a local pet rescue.