Ruth Robbins:
Yesterday, Mardi was insatiable. First, there were the strawberries stacked on the corner. She could have devoured the red flats. And after the fruit? Mardi eyes the peonies and the woman selling them.
Now, she is perched on the stool, feet dangling in the bare room. There is only the stool, table, floorboards, lamp. And there is the cake iced pink. She remembers her hunger from yesterday. Here it is again, the most obvious desire. The ache consumes her. Countless mortifying desires pile up and she wants to run towards the need. The distance she will travel is measured in light years.
Hair curls across her forehead and it’s shadow falls across her check. The cake is perfect. There is the hunger. There is the table, floorboards, lamp, the curl and the shadow. There is Mardi on the stool.
