Lemons
by Jordan Rosenberg
I like the way he cuts lemons. He does it the long way, vertically, delicately, cradling the fruit in his fingertips as he places his weapon. I watch him do it, an arm dangled over the back of my chair. His knife, my knife (as we are in my kitchen) struggles for a moment at the lemon’s thick peel. Bracing himself, he thrusts inward, piercing the skin and then he’s gliding through. The pulp and flesh splatter and the lemon concedes, falling open in two on the countertop. It’s clever, I think, that he cuts it like that. Vertically, to make wedges, so it’s easier to squeeze, he says. Easier to bleed the citrus into tonight’s cocktails or pasta this way. epilogue: he squeezes lemons into my mouth i am laying on the ground, hands bound, and he squeezes lemons into my mouth the juices splash and i catch droplets on my tongue they burn and warm my body as he drops fire inside me
fh 17
