Size / / /

Content warning:


1 bottle trust, still raw
   from when I was a kid
   should I fall, no need to look, for you would be there
   your arms—solace
   your heart—opened just a crack
   I never wished to be anywhere else
   (I should have looked)

1 ½ pounds self-worth, over the years
   its loss quasi-imperceptible, as most are
   a gaping hole to match, where my face used to be
   was the only pattern throughout our photographs

18 oz guilt, all mine
   piling up post-event, meaningless or big
   you—immune to it
   me—absorbing every drop
   so I would never forget I couldn’t meet your demands
   (I still can’t, dad)

1 pound flesh, ground
   exposing to the bone just how different we are
   though a mirror would suffice, and I know you enjoy those
   or a flower, daffodils, as the Greek myth that names you
   but no lakes, to prevent accidents

(Conditional) love to taste
   whenever I was worth your time

Add it all to a cup, and stir well. No doubt you will make it feel small enough to fit. Gobble up.

You only get to savor it once before there is nothing left.



Anne Liberton is an autistic Brazilian author fascinated by all things weird, from fiction and poetry to people. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Diabolical Plots, Small Wonders, and more. She took part in the 2021 Clarion West Novella Bootcamp workshop. You can find her everywhere @AnneLiberton.
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