Ellery Beck
Bramble
My body—the molded
blackberries on the top shelf
of my fridge, the smell
as it sticks. Pulled open
and artificially sweetened, industrially
cooled. I’m told I’m perishable
as if it’s a secret. I’m expected to know
my expiration date. My apologies—the mold
keeps growing. I have misplaced
the trash can and can’t manage
the walk to the dumpster.
Ellery Beck is an undergraduate student majoring in English at Salisbury University. A winner of the 2019 AWP Portland Flash Contest and a Pushcart nominee, they are the Founding Interview Editor for The Shore Poetry and a Poetry Reader for Poet Lore. They have poems published in Colorado Review, Zone3, Sugar House Review, Fugue, Slipstream and elsewhere.