Boy and girl live on melon and berry
            mango, pear, guava
            grape, and plum.

Spat from their mouths, every pit and seed
            digs its own burrow
            sprouts, leafs, flowers, and fruits.

And so they eat again
            he, half-asleep
            she, naming each syrup as it coats her tongue.

For these juices, unnamed
             they’re ravenous
             hungry for every growing thing

Even before that singular fruit
             these children
             want more.

Tom Laichas’s recent work appears or is forthcoming in Eclectica, Convergence, Blue Unicorn, and Lotus-eater among others. His short essays can be found at Left, Write and Centaur
www.leftwritecentaur.com. He lives in Los Angeles.