Date Grape by Freesia McKee
Date Grape
“Brewer responds to protests about offensive beer name”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 7th, 2016
What if I took the worst thing
that’s happened to you
and joked about it
and joked about it
Using you as both
ammunition and target
Puckered up
shut down
What if I pit you
against yourself
Only a
joke Stoked to win
the same old contests
If I add some sour
to the sweetness
how does it taste?
Concord seedless
purple like a bruise
wrinkled fruit
The bitterest grape
the stapled shut lip
All the bars I’ve jumped
………………over sleeping in anger
………………holding
………………that sour grape
………………date rape
Freesia McKee is a working poet. Her words have appeared in Painted Bride Quarterly, Gertrude, Argot Magazine, Burdock, and Sundress Press’s Political Punch anthology. Freesia co-hosted 57 episodes of The Subtle Forces, a weekly morning show on Riverwest Radio. She is moving this summer from Milwaukee to Miami to study poetry at Florida International University.
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