Tasting

by Sandra Larkin

First impression:  ash

from a scorched oak grove

stirs the palate awake.

Clusters of fruit derived

from some other

family’s crest give way

to velvet soaked in vinegar.

Sentiment yields no

competitive advantage.

Strategize: a broken

sword, whole ripe

apples, punctured

silence, lingering

penny-bright notes.

Raise a clamorous toast,

disregard the case

of creamy bones aging

under the stairs.  Wilting

bouquet presages a long finish:

hints of black pepper,

alluvial sand.

You’ll feel it in the morning.

Sandra Larkin is an entrepreneur and a parent.  She has lived in two houses and six apartments in two states, has seen two continents and seven countries, and has been published in Common Ground Review.  She rides horses and never expects the unexpected.  If necessary, she can be bribed with high-quality dark chocolate.