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August 22, 2023
[Polaroid of]
This article appears in the September 4/11, 2023 issue.
I’m shoving blueberries
into my bloodstream
smoking strawberries
out of a broken lightbulb
snorting raspberries
up my nose
I’m smoking blackberries
rolled with tobacco
in a nightmare rotation
of every person
who has broken my heart
I am flicking the outside of the bag
of lingonberries
with my fingertips
wetting for a taste of cran
waiting around all day
for my plug to come through
with ounces of boysen
grams of huckle and black currant
don’t lecture me about pesticides
or how to handle delicacies
tell me instead how to satiate
how to find my way back
Katie Jean Shinkle
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