DIVIDE ME by Susan Tepper

fruit of your evil

a split tree 

where maggots 

spill out

exposing roots &

entrails

You should hide

your eyes—

I crawled on my belly.

An undergrowth

had wild strawberries 

in yellow heat.

Picking them 

out of vines

tangled with dirt

in my mouth.

Small and tasteless

in their plentitude.

Susan Tepper is the author of nine published books of fiction and poetry.  Her most recent titles are CONFESS (poetry published by Cervena Barva Press, 2020) and the road novel WHAT DRIVES MEN (Wilderness House Press, 2019).  Tepper has received many honors and awards.  She’s a native  ) New Yorker.  www.susantepper.com