I Smile Lemon Peel | Elizabeth Shvarts

Lemons are ripest in the winter 

tenderized, tossed into sweet tart 

Baked into the space between 

the night sky and infinity 

Fruit falls softly from the tree only to rot 

If golden orbs shatter in the shadows do they really

bruise? 

The wind’s wolf-whistles lacerate the silence basso-profundo

brushes my lips like pine needles like daggers 

slice my peeling skin and suckle milk enough to leave a drought

Didn’t Mama tell you too much milk makes

your bones brittle? 

Too strong for the mouths of little boys so 

how can you stomach lemon juice but you 

Lick pulp like lollipop 

whistle becomes sigh becomes snarl 

So instead I bite back block 

caustic citrus crackling 

My tongue corrodes beneath its golden aura 

When life gives me lemons 

my mouth contorts into pucker-up 

Pluck lipstick labors as easily as I 

lace up my apron 

Palimpsest of sugar and spice 

curdles into eggshells and lemon peels 

sprinkled with pepper spray and whale-bone smile and 

yellow pinwheels shiny house key wedged between 

tongue and tart to taste

I singe my hands on ceramic 

Let cooling-rack bones and pitcher-hips simmer before 

prep-boy prick double-prong-licks the spatula clean 

Mama, isn't this how love is 

supposed to taste? 

Like pit 

Like pillage 

The difference between hearth and hellfire 

is in the hand that does the lighting 

Look at my calluses lemon-flesh-pulp 

seed and all choke on the hollow till you learn to harvest your own 

Life gives me lemons 

Suck them sour or not at all

Elizabeth Shvarts is a award-winning writer and spoken word poet who’s performed and spoke at storied venues such as the Apollo and United Nations. An NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador and finalist in Climate Speaks, a youth spoken word program, centered around climate change, her work in climate activism-driven poetry has been highlighted by PBS, the Apollo, Grist Magazine, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, The New York Times, and more. In addition to being recognized for spoken word poetry, Elizabeth has been named a National YoungArts Finalist in Play/Script for 2021, and her written work is published or forthcoming in Twin Pies Literary, Hadassah Magazine, The International Writing Program’s Between the Lines: Peace and Identity Anthology, and more.