I am a lemon

a fresh new lemon picked from

a tree

but the thing is

I was picked too early

I was picked before my skin turned yellow

before my shell stopped being white

 

I am a lemon

a lemon ready to be juiced

but I have already

had every last drop

squeezed out

 

I am a lemon

that’s juice

is not even remotely sweet
so you have to empty out

your remaining sugar

into a pitcher

and find my once bitterness

gave you type 2

diabetes

 

I am a lemon

that is perched on the side

of your margarita

but I fell in

and sank to the bottom

of the glass

and made your drink

impossible to sip

and savor

because

 

I am a lemon

and I am too strong

to be dealt with

and too weak to be forgotten

and too bitter to carry on.