Fine Work with Paring Knife

She chops 
off 
the stems, 
trims 
the white inner 
membranes, 
shakes 
each seedy core 
into the sink. 
Rings 
of jalapeño 
fall 
like dominos, 
glossy 
green against her 
cutting 
board, kinetic energy 
sliced 
and vibrating
before she can even 
raise
her fingers to her tongue. 

PAMELA WAX

Pamela Wax is the author of Walking the Labyrinth (Main Street Rag, 2022) and Starter Mothers (Finishing Line Press, 2023). Her poems have received several awards and a Best of the Net nomination. An ordained rabbi, Pam offers online spirituality and poetry classes from her home in western Massachusetts.