Rot | Caitlin Featherstone-Priester

I take a melon baller to my heart and             scrape

out bits of you,            all rotted-under and     sickish sweet and

warm.                           I weigh them in my fingertips,

spoonfuls and spoonfuls of     hopeful nights and

chattered teeth and     

dreams.           

They say that rotted fruit can taste

the sweetest but           I blanche

with you at my lips,    pressed tight with pallor and

forget-me-not.

I can’t bring myself to taste.

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Caitlin Featherstone-Priester is a writer, actor, and educator based in the Twin Cities. She holds a BA in English, Theatre Arts, and Education from Simpson College, and is the Director of Education at CLIMB Theatre. Her work explores LGBT+ issues, love, loss, trauma, and the cycle of abuse. For Gram.