Bloodfruit by Abby Zhang

One Poem Only · Oct 4, 2025 · 2m

Bloodfruit Abby Zhang Say it, like you used to peel blood oranges with your teeth, Ma.The flesh splits soft and shivering under the pressure,its rind stuck under your fingernails. Juice spilling—licking your lips with the same golden, bitter heat.Let the pith cling to your hands, burrow there like spoiled lace in the creases of your knuckles, a ghost of a daughter you couldn’t bear to name.Say it like an apology that came a heartbeat too late, sinking into mildew buried beneath nailbeds, sour and white.Too deep to name. Too guilty to believe.You can’t call it loveif the flower doesn’t survive…