BIO
Annelies Zijderveld is a Mexican-Bolivian-Dutch-American writer who resides in Oakland, California. The Los Angeles Times selected her book, Steeped: Recipes Infused with Tea as one of their favorite cookbooks of 2015. She holds an MFA in poetry from New England College and her poems have been published in Alexandria Review, Gluten-Free & More Magazine, Garbanzo Journal, and others.
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