Stoned fruit

Thin-skinned, heavy heart. Easily 
bruised, must be turned with care 
to ripen optimally. Delicate conditions, 
delicate flesh. Wash & indulge, pierce 
into sweet, soft skin. I eat the nectarine, 
imagine how a lover could consume me: gushing &

I am learning to let myself be messy.
Let coffee stains hit my white button-down, 
let flecks of soy sauce splash onto me. To be
loved is to be changed, runs through me 
when I think about mess. I dog-ear pages, I dirty 
every kitchen towel I own. I take 

my nectarine over the kitchen sink,
juice dripping down my arms. I let it run into me.

Elena Macdonald (they/she) is a lesbian writer from Northern Virginia. Elena is the Managing Editor for Poetry Daily and the website editor for Phoebe Journal. Their work has been featured or is forthcoming in Kitchen Table Quarterly, Twin Bird Review, and The Ekphrastic Review; you can find more about them at elenamacdonald.com.