My Cardboard Balcony

Blackberry Yogurt by Belinda Roddie Licking lactose from the bottom of a cup that was once topped with blackberry yogurt the sweet sensation of summer in bushes grown on a "No Trespassing" property with broken down fences You tempt the last curdle to slip on your tongue and set the spoon down to sleep against the dirty tile while you smile a maroon-stained smile and you grab a new cup and dig in while your mother scowls nearby

For the past three hours, I've been lounging at my computer, wearing red scottie-patterned pajama bottoms under my work shirt - a blue polo with blue insignia like I'm some sort of veteran. And maybe I am, in a way. But I try not to flatter myself. I suck on the straw of my generic fast food chain milkshake so hard that the tip catches along my tongue. Mmm. Processed dairy.