The Daily News by Ashley Hajimirsadeghi (trigger warning)

“JUST DISCOVERED! when a human heart shatters
against the wall it leaves trails of peach innards
drooping downwards”

BREAKING:

JUST DISCOVERED! when a human heart shatters
against the wall it leaves trails of peach innards
drooping downwards—as gravity should act on
dead things as it would on living things
the shadows delicately caress the remains
of what it meant to be alive.

the owner of the shattered heart rests against the
wall, feeling frothy peach juice dribble down
into her veins; she’s a fruity concoction
and vultures will linger and play Italian-Bingo
to see who will be the grand prize winner
of the pieces of the woman in Apartment 23B

WEATHER FORECAST:

MELANCHOLY with lingering thunderstorms
transitioning from summer to fall is always
so turbulent as the peaches plummet from
their stems onto the dehydrated earth
soon the apple trees will replace them
but it’s never too late to go peach-picking

LOCAL:

PEACH orchard closes, dead man found
nestled among the more promiscuous saplings
but don’t worry the police department investigates
and citizen concerns are smothered with “SUICIDE”
some claim he appears to be smiling down
into the creaky trunks of the crabapple trees
but others say the truth lingers in his eyes

*

Ashley Hajimirsadeghi is a literary arts senior at George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology. Her first poetry collection, tributaries, was self-published through Amazon’s CreateSpace in April 2018.