At the corner of Ridge and Fairmount,
red ships in a sea of green
catch my gaze.
It feels familiar.

If I were a child,
I would have eaten the berries
of the Red Star Mayhaw
with no questions asked.

Clawing my way
to the top of the tree,
it was silly of me
thinking I was choosing the finest of fruit.

I giggle at the thought of it.
Seven year old little me,
so willing to put
something of poison into my body without knowing.

I giggle. But has anything changed?
That berry is no different
than the poisonous men I choose to love,
picked from the Red Star Mayhaw Tree.

Or maybe the poison
is of my own,
left over from the first berry
I ate long ago.

Crawling its way
to the tip of my tongue,
rotting my newfound love
in the spirit of self sabotage.

May you find your way
to the old Red Star Mayhaw.
Avoid temptation, as even the sweetest of sugars
cannot learn to make jam from a poisonous berry.

-Vincent Cavallero