fill my mouth with peels of kumquats and bits of botanicals,
saliva drying with orris root

unpleasantness gagged with the molding fruits with sweet odor,
pearls begin to rot

pupils stung with the stems of lilacs as tears of
youth turn to sweet wine,
to be a sloshing treat in my skull

citrine stuffed beneath the skin peeled back in elegant strips,
cherub cheeks of baby fat

knobby knees bound in willow branches to tremble,
the warm blood is as sweet