Nectarine ‘sicle in the cool box
Ice melting from the fruit stick
Pop of color in the foamy sea
Ocean waves against the red bikini
Feet fail to carry me to the end
Edge of the knife laced with sweet liquid
Juice down my face
Chin up buttercup!
Throat-bellied bellowing
Laughing from the belly
Stomaching it through my limitless gut
Down my gullet goes the shame
Sawteeth between the fingers
Thumb on the excess flesh
Flab poking through the strings meant to contain
Acid inside
Knotted hair billows
Electrifying- snaps- calls
Heralding to the creature
Monstering at the bottom
Feel the eyes on vast
Expanes of bare skin
Blink, they’re gone
Wink, they’re back
Plaque in yellowed teeth
Truths stocks in your id
I’d leave if I could
He shudders and the ocean makes waves
Breaking dirt foam in voyeuristic mouths
Ploughing through furrowed brows
Enveloping bare bodies
Stopping in my mouth
Saline down my throat
I- we- swallow
And the gazes break.
~~~Bio- Ravneet Kaur Sandhu currently lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband. Her work has been published in The Offing, Gordon Square Review, and Tiny Spoon Magazine. She currently works at Abode Press as a Programs Manager and reads for Exposition Review. You can find her on Instagram at ravneet_recommends and on Chill Subs.
