shrewd dome
shiny skin.
clean, red, polished.
set on the table like it belongs.
no bruises,
no rot.
no warning.
they pick it up,
they bite.
sweetness fails.
tongues recoil.
they spit.
they gag.
they vomit.
inside, black.
soft.
collapsed.
something grew where seeds should’ve been.
they wipe their mouths.
they curse.
they leave.
the apple stays.
doesn’t ask to be cleaned.
doesn’t ask to be held.
it just waits.
shiny.
still.
rotting.
fingerprints on windows no one checks.
something behind the curtains.
footsteps echo, don’t return.
a name said too soft.
walls remember loud silence.
shoes lined up—one pair too small.
applause in an empty room.
a note never passed.
pages torn unread.
sky burned orange.
he hears what I mean.
a voice that holds back a scream.
answers kept like marbles.
gravity pulls harder in some rooms.
time slows when no one looks back.
words spill like juice, sticky and sour.
no one checks the fridge light.
a stare too long turns to a mirror.
chalk dust clings.
the chair by the door stays cold.
smiles break before the eyes.
hands twitch before waving.
paper cuts no one sees.
a clock ticks louder after sunset.
faces blur when they’re too kind.
a drawer never shut.
the bridge waits in memory.
water glows for the wanting.
no splash sounds in daydreams.
the breeze knows.
the sun was too warm.
something cracked unseen.
socks pulled too high, like armor.
his silence feels safer than words.
the test still smells like panic.
a name in every margin.
the apple dulls in dim light.
no one bites again.
dust settles.
no rot left to hide.
sinful notch
river bobcat