Beginning
on a sour note
seemed the natural thing to do
having caught a marvelously yellow
and stingingly
perfect pitch.

She
a strategically flawed girl –
“Hold the sugar,
extra spice”
– couldn’t shake the feeling that
somewhere a
Jack or
Meadowlark
was missing his
happy ending
or had been denied
the “sweet” sorrow of a notably unhappy one.

Dehydrated and short on sugar
wounds already healed
and calloused over with
no need of
first or
lemon aid
she
returned the lemon
to its puss
POW!
right in the kisser
of LIFE –
keeper of
sweet & sour
sunshine
rain
and tasty gray things in the
unbiased
in-between.

Satisfied and grinning
having pitched
a perfect game
she set off
GONE
in search of other sour things
like
patches, notes and cream
dough and whisky
saving her sugar
for more
and plentiful
shocking things.

LIFE
soaked in
its own juices
shivered to the rind with laughter
smiled
oozed
enthusiasm and
dripped
with praise.