I asked my mother the Korean word
for nectarine and she told
me 천도복숭아, heavenly
peach. And I recognized the angel
there, though she wouldn’t have
believed I knew her. I
had heard her on the phone
one room over,
unripe and glorious
like a child playacting
stone fruit,
head held between
summer-bare knees
acting out being eaten
remaining whole.
By Sarah Berg