Bailey Grey
how to embody the face you track
the seeds of the helianthus are used as human food
dear helianthus / i’m sure you’ve noticed
the heat rising / a bite in the air / i’m sorry
but it is just so human / to consume
a seed / the dense nutrition fortified
behind crunched shell spat / the viscosity
of our saliva lets it linger / on the dirt
but then it too is just a spot / of damp
earth / helianthus where should we
stare when the yolk sun drops / below
the horizon? / i stare at the ground
watch the frost climb / slowly up my
stem & coat my molten petals / i know
you are angry / lodged in my gum & a
pungent nasal burning / i overhear you:
in the dark / we are a mustard yellow
Biography
Bailey Grey (she/her) is a bipolar software developer living in Virginia with her grumpy old cat. Her work has been published in Crab Fat Magazine, Dovecote Magazine, and Ghost City Review, and she was a finalist for Sundog Lit's Summer Collaboration Contest (2019). She can be found on twitter @BaileyGWrites.
