melon seller

our bodies crave what they need / craving tomatoes can indicate iron deficiency
craving strawberries can be a sign of lack of vitamin c / i’m craving pears / and being buried
in the hot sand of my childhood / remember that / our bodies being packed under millions
of tiny grains / immobilised / invisible / only our faces sunward / listening  to the screeches
from the waterside as kids jump on and off inflatables / the baritone murmurs
from the prom side where seniors play bocce after lunch / countdown to how long we resist
until our limbs start kicking the sand from underneath / and we emerge / grainy
and glistening / sticky / we’d walk to the holy water / knees locked / arms outstretched

like little undead / and then we’d baptise the Adriatic with our golden bodies /
and then we’d wrap ourselves in towels / careful not to rub the skin / and we’d listen
for the melon seller / the ice cream man carrying a freezer from a strap on his shoulder / skin
more and more leathered every year / i wonder if he knew the last time we saw him would be
the last time we saw him / our lack of sun now turned to cravings for fruit / you can’t kick
free from where you’re buried now / and i can’t bear to see that beach again / the Chinese
say pears symbolise immortality / last week i ordered a whole crate of them / the sweet smell
of decay already permeating every corner of my sandcastle /