Snow White

What did she know
      of apples & poison?
Skin barely pricked
by the needle, venom
into flesh.
Echoes of Eve.
What did she know
      of jealousy?
There were seven men
& when she bled, she bled alone—
no cycles with which to sync
except the moon, suspended
from its dark ceiling.
Suspicion haloes the moon.
What did she know
      of women hating women?
That apple, so sweet, so crisp—
her perfect bite—
a white circle,
so stark against the red.

To the fairest—
O fruit of the fallen,
at some point we all
plummet
to the ground
                     windfallen,
& bruised from impact.
Someday
we awaken
to find ourselves   wholly encased
in glass.

Tara A. Elliott’s poems have appeared in TAOS Journal of International Poetry & Art, The American Journal of Poetry, and Ninth Letter, among others. Executive Director of the Eastern Shore Writers Association, she is also the founder and director of Salisbury Poetry Week and co-chair of the annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference. A recent winner of Maryland State Arts Council’s Independent Artist Award, she has work forthcoming in Cimarron Review.