How It’s Gotta Be

By Mel Sherrer

It don’t gotta be all puppies and kittens,
altars and status updates,
#smitten.

Just make sure you get me a fruit cup,
spiced the way I like it
from the mango-man on the corner.

Come in while I bathe talkin’ about
my back, my shoulders.

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Mel Sherrer (she/her) is a writer, editor, and educator. She received her B.F.A. from Hollins University, and her M.F.A. from Converse College in South Carolina. She is the Social Media Editor for South 85 Literary Journal, and she teaches private lessons. Mel also conducts Creative Writing and Performance Literature workshops. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.