Dominique Parris

A Part

Some things know about letting go

about how and when,

and how much.

My knife rocks around the circumference of an avocado pit

and two halves cleave with ease—

though that’s not the wonder of it.

Slicing the length into quarters 

reveals twin bruises, grey and sunken.

        No matter.

I coax the stippled peel backwards, yielding

whorls of purple velvet underbelly,

I watch the flesh of the fruit

as she relinquishes her blemish

to the retracting peel—

jagged half moon

perfectly excised.

Another clean leaving.

Dominique Parris (she/her) is a poet and social justice practitioner. She holds a Masters of Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Bachelor's degree from Wellesley College. Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia. She is a queer, multi-racial, mother of three living with her spouse and children in Washington, DC. www.linkedin.com/in/dominiqueparris/