take a grapefruit
notice the veins
and the rivers that run from you
pull every slice from it’s hem
and name it after the seasons of the sky
press your tongue into march
bleed its juices empty
pull at the pulmonary veins of may
and then rapture what tethers its heart
that on the day you see her
with those eyes of yours
that make you look
like you have seen
too much of this world
you will not recognise her
and miss her warmth
this woman who birthed you
brought you into the world
through the space between her legs
then left you to fend for yourself
you will not have the craving
to say mother here i am
i have fit in your womb
i can still fit into your heart
this woman
where you get your small nose from
and your wild imagination
you will not recognise her
and you will not feel anything
her heart will be that of a stranger
when you run into her
run into her
like a grapefruit
in the mouth of a stranger
Veripuami Nandee Kangumine is a writer and poet from Windhoek, Namibia. Her poems have appeared in My Heart In Your Hands: Poems from Namibia (2020).