The carob trees give off a strong whiff
of cum, the scent of my lover’s semen
fills my mouth, as I walk
through the street, kernels of light
traveling towards me—
Autumn is a strange time of year
for the world to reek
of seeding. The trees
spill the phallic shaped pods
onto the ground, dried up cones
pointing upwards, dark substitute
for chocolate. I was meant to menstruate
six days ago. November is a month
like any other, things happen
& unhappen. Daylight
touches the pavement in delay.
Leaves dwindle in batches, never alone,
as the wind lifts them like children
to a new destination. It hardly seems
like falling, this melodic sway of air.
I wondered if we should do it all over again,
the sleepless nights, the near-death song.
The carob pod lies shriveled and browned
in my hand, smooth with luster. Yes—
November is a month like any other.
Geula Geurts is a Dutch born poet and essayist living in Jerusalem. Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Pleiades, The Penn Review, Salamander, Juked, Raleigh Review, Radar Poetry, Crab Creek Review, and Blood Orange Review, among others. Her lyric essay ‘The Beginnings of Fire’ was named a runner-up in CutBank’s 2020 chapbook competition, and is forthcoming with CutBank Books in Spring 2021. Her first full-length poetry manuscript ‘Tiny Bones Glowing’ was selected as the first runner-up in the 2020 Red Hen Press Benjamin Saltman Award. Her mini chapbook ‘Like Any Good Daughter’ was published by Platypus Press. She is a graduate of the Shaindy Rudolph Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Bar Ilan University, and works as a literary agent at the Deborah Harris Agency.