Like This
by Foxes and Magnolias
Like you would with the fuzz on a peach
by rolling your fingers over it, your thumb-
notice it.
Allow your fingers to round
over where it rounds
and sink
into the spaces where depressions have been formed.
When encountering tender spots, treat them tenderly.
Notice the varied shades-
how the marigold flesh
delicately turns blush and
into crimson.
Then notice it this way: with your mouth-
the way it feels against your lips,
your tongue.
Slowly work circles around the pit
until eventually
that’s all that’s left of it.
And for a moment longer than you might think needed,
just be still.
There.
With it.
Languidly pull your mouth away
to keep the juice from
dripping over you.
Taste it one last time-
the ripened, sweet juice.