Cotton Candy Woman, Kiara Florez

funny, isn’t it

that Eve bit into knowledge

and all of my citations

slither their way back

to sons of Adam

funny, isn’t it

that we bore the brunt of it

ate too much, too soon

burped ourselves to exile

funny, isn’t it

the girl in the movie

is sad and sinking

into red velvet and cream cheese

frosted lips

the excess as abusive

ironic, right

books and papers and scrolls

libraries shelving jacques, locke, voltaire

built on the nibbling of fruit

ironic, right

kashmir has had a brilliant late season

and yet dadi

brown and crumpled now

ruffles through the alphabet-

the lines she makes most sense of

are the ones that look like her palms

she goes home

to the sound of guns and leaves

blowing in the wind.

About the Author

Kaav Ranj · Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts

Kaav Ranj graduated in May 2020 from Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts. She has published her work in worldwide publications, such as Under the Basho, Cornell Digital Haiku Library, and elsewhere. She has performed her spoken word poetry across several cities in India and the Middle East. ‘while a professor pores over the enlightenment’ originally appeared in Collision Literary Magazine, University of Pittsburgh. 

About the Artist

Kiara Florez · Delaware State University

Kiara Florez is a graduate of Delaware State University with a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art. She is an artist who expands abstract paintings with themes of spiritual philosophy and imaginative worlds. This painting first appeared in Collision Literary Magazine.