Martha Rhodes

How Sad

Their kisses were bitterly thin,
their lovemaking so dry, blisters
erupted. To lure her, he coated
and dusted himself with sweetness
of any form. But only bears,
ants, and bees circled him. Bears, ants,
gnats, bees, all the universe’s creatures
attached to his skin, save her.

Author: Martha Rhodes

Martha Rhodes is the author of five poetry collections, most recently “The Thin Wall.” She is a member of the faculty of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and is the publisher of Four Way Books. She lives in New York City.

Plume: Issue #102 February 2020