do you want to see a magic trick?
would you like to try swallowing me whole?
have you ever peeled open a tangerine?
it’s like that, only you keep going, until there’s nothing left
but infernos, do you see?
can i ask you one more question?
will you still kiss me when i look different?
will you? will you? will you? how can i be sure?
why do i keep igniting in your hands?
i forgot, can you remind me, how does one move atop of you,
if not fiercely?
when i finish retching up all the lilacs i have inside, what happens?
will you let someone else dip their hands in you after this?
will you? will you?
would you rather drown or slowly burn to death?
did you know that the two are more or less the same?
the other day my mom pointed out that i’m getting bonier,
did i tell you?
why do you think i burn in the same shade as forget-me-nots?

Sal is a professional sluggard and occasional writer who spends most of her free time sleeping and reading Anne Carson. Her work has been published in Canvas Literary Journal, The Rappahannock Review, and Yes Poetry, among others.