• Issue Archive
  • Submissions
  • Contests
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Blog
  • About
  • Issue Archive
  • Submissions
  • Contests
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Blog
  • About
Invisible City
MENU
You are here: Home / Poetry / Communal Consumption

Poetry

Communal Consumption

your hot curry breath’s 
got me
in such a tither, ready to inhale and gulp
you up—my new oxygen
let us tiptoe through 
our floral saffron lawn
float in our pool of chicken
vindaloo on garlic naan floaties
and even when this crimson spice
bath begins to rub us wrong,
i’ll peel your flaky rice-grain skin
dig in so deep
we become embedded
in each other and
we’ll construct our home with a paneer veneer
cover our couches with crisp samosa cushions
and sure our roof leaks yogurt sauce from time to time
but it’s all so scrumptious, what can you do
besides shrug and take another bite
who would we hire anyway, a handyman or a chef
—so, the ceiling drips and i watch you bathe
in this steamy tub of kelp-colored chutney
your tangled cilantro locks topped
with this ornate crown of fresh mint
with leaves weaved 
with such finesse
i can no longer resist
tearing your flesh
fresh off the bone
should’ve known that tandoor sauna
would be our undoing
‘twas but a matter of time
before one of us
devoured the other and
soon every surface will be
stained with our turmeric cravings
you chai latte squirter you
when i go down to motorboat
it sounds like basmati biryani
we both hear it, can’t help it
oh the splatters they’ll see
will the authorities know
i just couldn’t help myself,
will they ever comprehend 
a hunger such as this—?

Abbie Doll is a writer residing in Columbus, OH, with an MFA from Lindenwood University. She is a fiction editor at Identity Theory. Her work has been featured or is forthcoming in Door Is a Jar Magazine, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, and Ellipsis Zine, among others. Connect on socials @AbbieDollWrites.

Featured Artwork:

Take Your Honey

Kristin LaFollette is a writer, artist, and photographer. She is the author of Hematology (winner of the 2021 Harbor Editions Laureate Prize) and Body Parts (winner of the 2017 GFT Press Chapbook Prize). She received her Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University and is a professor at the University of Southern Indiana. Learn more about her work at kristinlafollette.com.

You may also enjoy

Read More

  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction

Let’s Connect

  • Send us your work
  • Tweet @invisiblecitySF
  • invisiblecity@usfca.edu

University of San Francisco

  • Master of Fine Arts in Writing
  • Archive: Switchback Journal

Invisible City

Literary Journal of the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco

Note: The contents of Invisibe City do not necessarily reflect the views of USF or of the MFA program.

Privacy Policy

© 2020–2025