Man With a Cup of Pudding

Let her be hungry for what I can bring, 
a single-serve portion of Kozy Shack, 

foil lid peeled back. Let her mouth accept 
the spoon, since God knows it takes strength, 

this dying. See how her jaw pulls tight,
how her neck cords thicken? Lend her life 

enough to raise her eyes when cold vanilla
meets her tongue. And let her know my face. 

Eternal power I don’t believe in, why
should I not feel encouraged to see 

my wife eat? I don’t look for luminous
wings to lift her singing beyond the stars, 

but wherever she goes—or doesn’t—who
gets hurt if at the end she licks her lips?

MERRILL OLIVER DOUGLAS

Merrill Oliver Douglas is the author of the poetry chapbook Parking Meters into Mermaids (Finishing Line Press, 2020) and the full-length collection Persephone Heads for the Gate (Silverfish Review Press, 2024) Her poems have appeared in Baltimore Review, Tar River Poetry, Stone Canoe, SWWIM Every Day, South Florida Poetry Journal, Verse Daily, and Whale Road Review, among other publications.