your leftovers needed eating so you fed them to me
plate after plate & i savored that
decadent taste in my mouth
picked at the last morsel of “beautiful”
the explosion of “enough” on my tongue
i’ll take the last piece of “perfect” please
if you’ll just say it to me one more time
scramble me an omelet of my favorite phrases
sprinkle that you need me on top
show me how i can devour this delicacy
so irresistibly you’ll never give these scraps
to anyone else i’ll mend your broken parts
i’ll clean the spatula after you’ve dropped it
on the kitchen floor
convince me you can’t live without my hands
patching your burn marks
& i’ll admit my appetite has grown
for your plethora of delectable zests
feed them to me one more time before
you learn to indulge in self-proficiency &
clean the silverware without my help.
Malena Mayell is a junior at Corbett High School. She has been compiling stories since 2nd grade and otherwise loses track of time burying herself in words, turning up the volume on Taylor Swift, and running in the pouring rain.