Annalies Zijderveld

BIO

Annelies Zijderveld is the author of Steeped: Recipes Infused with Tea, selected by the Los Angeles Times as a notable cookbook. Her poetry appears in Alexandria Quarterly, Garbanzo Journal, and Eat / Ate Anthology. She holds an MFA in poetry from New England College. To see more of her writing, visit anneliesz.com or follow her on Instagram @anneliesz

To Eat a Mango

To eat a mango, discard
all propriety and change 

if you need to 

Throw off long sleeves or
roll them up,
Tie on an apron or bib 

if you must 

Before you begin to peel the skin
pulp glistening
Before you give in, 

put away your knife, no cutting
board needed when ripe 

Call in sick

or let lunch break into half
day of work, you’ve only got time
to be here now 

Lean in for the good night kiss
goodbye Plunge mouth-first 

call it love

for five minutes if lucky, jaw still sticky,
eating life with intention, all the way to the pit

©The Acentos Review 2020