he tells me that I'm sugar-sweet
like honey
thick, sticky, dripping golden

I told him he's more ****
like a lemon twist
hard, sour, shocking when sweet

he said our tastes' complement one another
I take his lemon sucker
he drinks the honey from the hive

but he found a bee in the honeycomb
and learned that even sweet things
sting like the lemon juice in my cuts

he takes a jar on his way out
I brush my teeth
to protect my enamel from lemon zest