Sweet Kisses by Marina Simms

Read by Conner Arnold

She’s been saying it so often now,

“You taste of prime and pretty peaches”

I make her think of crystal water,

Of gentle waves and white beaches

A boy once told me, after pushing me down

That girls’ lips need to taste sweet and delicious

It drives men to chase, to go wild

He said “men in love are often the most vicious”

I thought of apple red lips, biting down

I thought of purpled tongues, and a sticky, seedy smile

I remembered all the peaches I had tasted,

against his lips of blackened bile

He had tasted like lemons, a citrus shock wave

But, as I grew up, peaches

Were the taste that I craved