Catalogue of Ripening
Turning supple skin to wrinkles,
the green lychee pricks to spikes.
*
When the plums are hard,
leave them in the garage
until they are as soft
as a robin’s underbelly.
*
Sift the dirt from Mother’s
white petunias through
your esophagus
to grow a girl and hide
the pebbles and stones
under your tongue
until the green of your veins
fade to grey.
*
Light the jasmine candle
and drip wax down
your arms until the peach
turns pink.
*
Your house shelters
no infant, so cradle yourself.
*
Make sure to steady
your head with your right palm
and listen to the birdsong,
the rhythm catches you by surprise
and you awaken.
the green lychee pricks to spikes.
*
When the plums are hard,
leave them in the garage
until they are as soft
as a robin’s underbelly.
*
Sift the dirt from Mother’s
white petunias through
your esophagus
to grow a girl and hide
the pebbles and stones
under your tongue
until the green of your veins
fade to grey.
*
Light the jasmine candle
and drip wax down
your arms until the peach
turns pink.
*
Your house shelters
no infant, so cradle yourself.
*
Make sure to steady
your head with your right palm
and listen to the birdsong,
the rhythm catches you by surprise
and you awaken.
Sabrina Guo is from New York. She is the youngest global winner of the 2021 Poems to Solve the Climate Crisis Challenge, with a performance in the UN Climate Change Conference, UK 2021. She is the recipient of the Civic Expression Award and an eight-time National Medalist from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Her writing has been featured in the Best Teen Writing, Counterclock, The Poetry Society of UK, and Polyphony Lit, among others. She is the founder of Long Island Laboring Against COVID-19 and Girl Pride International, organizations featured by Disney for its 2021 “Use Your Voice” social initiative.
Art: Untitled, Amber Tattersall