for R
She skins the peaches
to freeze them
before they rot,
her hands moving over
the fruits that have already
sunk into themselves
and bloomed black.
There is such a thing
as too late.
Her own ending
implied by the blood test,
a dark bloom inside her.
Still, there is so much
sweetness to save.
Her hands glisten with it.
A beautiful metaphor for the dark spots that seem to creep into all of our lives.