Ballet Slipper Baklava
Samantha Stiers

I.

A petrified ballet slipper --
hard, pink, glossy
as a sore throat.

The stonecutter
slices it into rings
to be worn around the neck.

II.

The cafe --
ballet slippers
in fried batter.

At the register
children reach their hands
into bottomless containers

of tiny pointe shoes, chew them like gum.

III.

Ballet slipper baklava --
a thousand layers of satin.
Bite down.

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