I ate men,

one after the other,

licking my fingers as I finished

 

each one.

 

I was feeding

myself, filling up cold,

star-less nights,

 

taking their fire

and then wiping it away,

 

tossing the leftovers in the trash.

 

But men are not good nutrition.

 

My bones shrank and hollowed,

 

my skin withered and puckered,

 

and my heart became a stone fruit.

---

 

 

L Mari Harris lives in Nebraska, where she works as a copywriter.  She’s new to publishing her work, so the Same is only her third publishing credit.  Other works have been published or are forthcoming in Black Fox Literary Magazine and Silk Road Review.  Follow her on Twitter @LMariHarris.