“Pastiche and Peony” by Aneesha Roy

Ringlets of matted hair
Cumbersome display.
hung in swarms.
Shells and scraps.
Erudite Nabokov
lining the floor.
A bloodied peony
sheathing the door.
Hard-bound volumes
of pastoral elegies.
A box of pink cotton candy.
Fluff, snuff, scruff, bluff
Open the door, mom – that’s enough.

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