When you’re a guest in someone’s
home, and they retire before you do,

and you, downstairs in the guest
room, realize that it’s dark

upstairs, and it’s midnight
and you’ve got a yen for a snack,

you decide that you’re fine—
you don’t want to wake them.

But the next day you go to
the fruit bowl in the kitchen

and fetch an especially
friendly looking peach

and bring it downstairs
with a couple of paper towels,

thinking that you’ll eat it some
late night over the bathroom sink,

letting the juice dribble down
your chin without a care

for the stickiness. Don’t wait
too long, a voice nudges

in your head. Eat that peach
while the eatin’ is good.

Don’t forego pleasure for
potential hunger later.

Take a big bite. And another.
Let that sweetness fuel your smile.