beat this real good (bone one)
an erasure from Bountiful Blessings: The Munford Presbyterian
Church Cookbook (Munford, Tennessee, 1993)
love
is easy to pull off bone.
i have divided this successfully
between juices and sugar,
so little time and effort
spent
with a knife,
red and unflattering,
removed from fire,
fat eaten warm or cold.
it takes patience and more patience.
it takes its name
from consumption.
it does not move.
spring blossoms on fine porcelain.
my grandmother crushed
until her death.
i can remember so little from
anything.
soften and pucker.
blacken and collapse.
i do not open the door.
if it is hot enough,
it will grind me
as fine as powder.
slice thickly and cover (bone three)
an erasure from Bountiful Blessings: The Munford Presbyterian
Church Cookbook (Munford, Tennessee, 1993)
today’s women
have become
costly.
i could hardly believe how
futile
portions such as these
allow us to become.
very quick, very easy, very bitter.
another winner
instead of salt.
milk
replacing
pleasure.
follow the directions:
fill your cavity with
white vinegar.
serve the entire house
your heart.
break yourself into pieces
over and over.
i trust you will
remain
clear and tender,
a meal that is
more than human effort,
slicing yourself
away from the bone.
Maria Zoccola is a queer Southern writer with deep roots in the Mississippi Delta. She has writing degrees from Emory University and Falmouth University. Her work has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, The Iowa Review, The Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere. Learn more about her work at mariazoccola.com