Plums
Plums
by Charley Foster
I was similar to corned beef
She was a defective product
There was a need to navigate
carefully around her brain
It was exciting and horrible
It was fascinating and adorable
It was sad and attractive
I will never forget the abandoned
Sputtering embers of her little mound
where flowed only iced tea
so sweet and so cold
Bothers me. How was she “a defective product?” What does it mean to be “similar to corned beef?” Sounds from the title and the “sputtering embers of her little mound” they had a sexual encounter, but the tone is so condescending: “it was exciting and horrible…fascinating and adorable…sad and attractive,” particularly in regards to the “need to navigate carefully around her brain,” presumably because “I” considers her “defective.” The “iced tea” image doesn’t follow. To me, the poem is a sexist perspective on what was at least half contributed by the “I.”
grudge-threshold: so similar to poor fridge content, so not plums, so not iced tea. try roasting the neglected brussel sprouts. they love you. i love you.