Unicorn Flesh
by Yoon Ha Lee
tender it is
dissolving like crushed sugar
the instant
it passes between your lips
and is enveloped by your breath
tender it is, and warm
leaving no texture against the tongue
just the memory
of foam, of fossils, of moth-eaten satin
and all things once white
tender it is, and warm, and fatal
for it stains your hidden marrow
deepest red
and after that last lancing pleasure
the world becomes your poison.