nat raum
grief as a blistered shishito
as in, one in every eight to ten
things i remember stings to high
heavens. as in, sometimes the steel
of a saber tastes good on my tongue
and sometimes i find the blade.
as in, i am used to a gentle tingle,
slow spread of spice through
my mouth, but i am never prepared
for capsaicin to disrupt everything
the seeds and oils touch, any trace
of ecstasy long lost to the pepper’s
temporary, biting torment.
nat raum is a disabled artist, writer, editor, and genderless disaster based on unceded Piscataway and Susquehannock land in Baltimore. Past and upcoming publishers of their writing include Split Lip Magazine, Poetry.onl, Baltimore Beat, Poet Lore, beestung, and others. Find them online at natraum.com.