Palm the whole
and slice in two.
Grip the knife
and circle the fruit.

Pink, white, or
yellow inside—
the flesh brims
with sunrise.

Pare the segments
each into each
and wonder how
your parents

found the time
to work the blade
in 51 lines
for you to eat

the grapefruit
as you still do—
one triangle at a time,
cut to suit.
 
 
~ ~ ~

Sandra Marchetti is the author of Confluence, a full-length collection of poetry from Sundress Publications (2015). She is also the author of four chapbooks of poetry and lyric essays, including Heart Radicals (About Editions, 2018), Sight Lines (Speaking of Marvels Press, 2016), A Detail in the Landscape (Eating Dog Press, 2014), and The Canopy (MWC Press, 2012). Sandra’s poetry appears widely in Poet Lore, Blackbird, Ecotone, Southwest Review, River Styx, and elsewhere. Her essays can be found at The Rumpus, Whiskey Island, Mid-American Review, Barrelhouse, and other venues. Sandy earned an MFA in Creative Writing—Poetry from George Mason University and now serves as the Coordinator of Tutoring Services at the College of DuPage in the Chicagoland area.