Shannon Lippert
Sugar and Snails
if you’re wondering what boys are made of
take yours to the river, the one surrounded by tall grass
give him a steady diet of tadpoles, and
make him recite The Declaration of Independence over
and over, until he gets it right
ask him what it is like to remember fairy tales
there’s a dragon for each one of his limbs, a princess
locked in every cell, and when his bones grow too big for him
tearing his skin to pieces, ask him if he remembers who he was
as he turns into something new
you will get a better sense of him
when you hear his voice break
stumbling around puberty, not for the last time
so you must catch him before his playfulness
is deserted, before he learns how to smoke
maybe even earlier. it is important to figure out
his chemical composition, how much bile
does he need to swallow before he’ll become too swollen,
too much a self-made man with a heart gone sour and
replaced by an empty notebook in his chest
have him swallow salt water, just enough
to sicken him, but not too much. sing to him
for as long as you can, long past the time when your breath
runs out. anything to inspire dreams
just try to prolong this symphony, just try—
Shannon is a poet, playwright, and performing artist. Her poetry was featured in episode 55 of the Glittership podcast, and has been published in The Practical Handbook of Bee Culture.
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