Jack ‘o lanterns smirk, sockets pushed in like century-old faces. Last night, hot with secrets, I wondered how it would feel to spill my guts, to again have between us plates of raw food—tuna and rarely seared beef fanning out like tongues— our chopsticks poised in briny anticipation. Should I come clean, carve myself inside out? An opportunity to see the curved, quivering pulp of me on fired clay, accordion slices. No protein here, just think of blood oranges, clitoric ripeness, juices running, the sweet, undimpled peel. Oh, unfulfilled energy, possession licking my core. Samhain, and not every fire extinguished.
About the Author Carla Hartsfield is a classical pianist and has published three books of poetry and two chapbooks. About the Artist Yasmine Essence Soria is a photographer, writer and editor based in Chicago, where she was born and raised. She is a first-generation Mexican-Honduran-American woman working to pave her own path in the world through her work. She currently attends Columbia College Chicago in pursuit of a Bachelor’s in creative writing with a minor in photography. As a multimedia creator, she creates both photo and writing work that expresses the core aspects of her identity, while describing the world as she perceives it. She works largely in digital and partly in film, favoring still life and portraiture. For more of her photo work, follow her Instagram @yasmine.essence.
