box containing 56 lemons, mailed from Arizona to Michigan by Andrea Lianne Grabowski

lemons are usually symbolic

bitter/sour make it sweet

but what if I don’t want to?

lemons could never grow in my backyard.

it’s too cold in this heart of mine

for desert crops, but i can grow peaches.

lemons can be unusually symbolic

of excitement when the world blurs.

good lord, what will we do

with all these lemons? I was supposed to be out

where they came from, but now I’m stuck

pondering expensive postal fees.

lemons are excellent for meringues

custards or killer muffins

but only if you have sugar.

whip up some of this zest with poppyseeds

but only if you wash them ten times first.

these sugarless cupboards are a symbol

of control. trees bleed maple joy

in the spring and we need it now more than

ever before. let the trees bleed.

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Andrea Lianne Grabowski (she/her) is a queer writer, white settler on Anishinaabe land, and recent graduate of Northwestern Michigan College. She has been on the literary staff of NMC Magazine and is editing her first novel. Find her on Twitter @pingouinwrites.