by Gracie Belk

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I pick my clementines by feel,
The soft give of the soft shell,
It reminds me of the leather encasing my journal
Beholder of my secrets and poems
Bond by glue and all the things i’ll never dare to say
The origin of who I am and will be started with clementines
Possibly even beginning with Clementia
The goddess of forgiveness, clemency
There is such strength in being gentle;
Choosing your clementines one by one,
Rolling them between supple palms
An art both careful and precise
I never wanted to be known as hard, rigid,
All I wanted was kind.
Someone of great clemency and mercy
A person of overwhelming sweetness rather than bitter tang;
That’s where my religion lies
Believing that my world,
This reality I’m graced with is one of leniency
That inside of my life there is softness to be told
Maybe there’s something other than the sour tellings of misfortune
And I too can be forgiven

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Gracie Belk is an emerging writer from Lancaster, SC. She has published works in The Bittermelon Review and Red Clay Journal. She is also the creative director for Garnet & Black magazine.