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This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “Seahorse” Down in the Dirt, v194 (the 4/22 Issue) Order the paperback book:

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Desert Fruit
Serengeti, Tanzania

Frederick Livingston

Maybe once
this savannah was loud
with fierce beasts baring fangs

now, however
wind hushes us
through leafless thorn brush

sun runaways we hunch
under thin acacia shade
conspicuous citrus lips

spit seeds on salt-stained earth
without worry
they’d dare sprout

where water is dug among
vulture feather and cattle dung
deep down the gorge

Maasai mother emerges
plaid swaddled infant in arms
and two twins in tow

sit in full sun to watch
us dust-washed in said sad shade
unwrapping without appetite

white boxes
yellow fruit
orange roots

we assume to be new, until
mother pulls camera phone from robe
to capture us

offering orange halves to her twins
tongue-tip to something
out of place and sharp as ice

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