Samantha Shriber Friday Funerals for Strawberry-Kiwi Juice

Friday Funerals for Strawberry - Kiwi Juice by Samantha Shriber

A funeral was hosted on a Friday afternoon, It was one where dahlias budded from the casket’s corners, I lit an array of Dollar Tree candles and Enjoyed my mimosa too fast. Did you know mimosas are the drink of resurrection now? I’m not sure anymore though, Because each time someone cracks an egg open Burgundy comes streaming out in pandemonium. A duo of tree trunk spiders follow fervently behind, Tiny tongues in shades of coral savor the blood, Desiring to acquire the taste of dead daydreams, With the saccharine of never feeling alone. Let me consume another sip of blemished juice. Did your invitation get lost in the mail?

I hand wrote your invitation, Ivory paper was hallooed by a downpour of lilac oil, A bit of my wrist was sliced open by raw amethyst as I prayed, Manifesting you’d come dressed in that striped jumpsuit, Your hair curled into a spiraling woodland of silk, Over and over again, I imagined your lips unfolding with concern,

Like a memorial rose being wedged into sand. You’d scuttle toward the coffin and force it open, Despite having fingers frailer than forget-me-not petals. Inside there’d be polaroid photographs, each one stained,

One-worded text messages and expired Bud Light, Accompanied by the dandelions we’d pick for each other, Kept warmed by the canopies of our forts. I added the $5 pairs of sunglasses we needed for nearly every occasion

In my invocation, Tears glimmering like moonstones would smirch your makeup, You’d be heaved back into my sophomore dorm room, Where we’d lounge imprudently on my bedding and drink strawberry-kiwi juice, Teeheeing over paltry men with deficient names, In the past and present you’d say you loved me, But your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.

Samantha Shriber is an aspiring mermaid, a self-proclaimed dancing queen and glitter enthusiast. Shriber is a Saint Clair Shores native who is double-majoring in Journalism and Political Science and pursuing a certificate in Creative Writing. Her poetic constructions ultimately aspire to schlep readers into her psychedelic and viridescent daydreams. Her mind, which floats in voltaic cloudbursts, pines for luscious dialogue, flowy pants and road trips to the Atlantic Ocean. In the wilds of Metropolitan Detroit and Mount Pleasant, Shriber can be discovered riding around on borrowed bicycles, passing out kandi bracelets and advocating for reproductive justice. Along with poetry, she vivaciously loves house music, Gloria Steinem and flying tiger sushi rolls. For Summer 2020, she will be interning as a state capitol reporter and hopes to work on her first-ever podcast, the Feminist Futura.

Alexx is a super senior studying Secondary Education with majors in English and School Health and a Creative Writing certificate. She is the president of CMU's chapter of PERIOD: The Menstrual Movement and a coordinator for Leadership Camp. Alexx's most natural state of being is in a crop top with a thrifted flannel, toting her yellow backpack covered in buttons and pins, and sipping on an oat milk latte.