Home  |  Poetry  |  Audio Poems  |  Prose  |  What's New  |  Bio  |  Contact
Finger Food


The harder the shell, the sweeter the nut.
That's what you kept saying.

I broke my best nutcracker.
In desperation,
I banged my hammer,
Bashed my knuckles,
Ran out of fingers—
A near-disaster on my hands
By the time I stopped listening to you.

Thorny and tough outside, the cactus is sweet and tender inside.
Well, here we don't go again, baby.

I know all I need to know about cactus.
If I'm ever lost in the desert,
Out of water,
Out of my mind,
Miraculously not out of gloves,
I might give in to your temptations.
But for now, I'll stick to fruit I can trust
Alone with my hands.

© 2010 Peggy Landsman
 Published in Ascent Aspirations

 Home  |  Poetry  |  Audio Poems  |  Prose  |  What's New  |  Bio  |  Contact