mum cuts apples in mid-air into juicy crescents

I watch light slice through pale flesh with the softest crunch

sharp as steel

pips scatter carelessly

out of character

she’ll swipe them off the tabletop once she’d finished

sticky sweetness washed off calloused fingers

but for now there’s hope in each of them

shiny brown and full of hidden life that’ll never blossom

I smile to the child in our rented kitchen

letting little moons slip from my hands

for her to run away with

for me to never leave

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MON MALANOVICH-GALLAGHER (they/them) is a non-binary queer poet, inclusion speaker and mental health activist. Their work appeared in a variety of chapbooks, anthologies and magazines including Queer Writing for the Brave New World, Beyond Words, Aurora and is forthcoming in a number of other publications, both online and in print. You can connect with Mon on Instagram: @mxmongmg