the tradition outside Baltimore

is to pour white marshmallow sauce

over balls of shaved ice,

syrupy sweet with a flavor of your choosing.

Still, I want to buy my baby a popsicle;

an orange creamsicle to bring summer to his smile.

Then cheeseburgers folded in yellow paper

with the onions and ketchup how he like.

Then butter up his belly ’til it bump out towards me

like a stepped-upon flower on the come up.

Then let embarrassment build behind my teeth 

while I smile like a rich woman.

 

 

Kiara Bell (she/her) is a student, writer, and musician who writes about black and queer feelings. Her work has most recently been featured in Black from the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing (2019). Kiara lives in Baltimore and performs under the stage name, Babyfat.