Cherry Popsicle is Flung at Me

By Mercury Sunderland

i get off the bus. & a

cherry popsicle is flung at me. it

explodes into red pieces

all over my pink ita backpack

adorned with

pins of cartoon characters

& pride flags. i

don’t feel it at first

but the person before me

was angry enough

to waste a perfectly good treat

on a summery spring day instead. i

just feel grateful

it didn’t stain my pink backpack

with two clear windows

to protect my pins from theft

while still displaying them proudly. i

don’t see who threw it

other than that they

sprint the other way

in the fear of me. i

take in the

bright sunshine today

& i am grateful to be alive. i

walk home carefree

& enjoy myself

an icy drink

of cherry lemonade.

---

Mercury Sunderland (he/him) is an autistic gay trans man from Seattle. He's been published by University of Amsterdam's Writer's Block, University of British Columbia's Decomp, UC Davis' Open Ceilings, UC Riverside's Santa Ana River Review, and UC Santa Barbara's Spectrum.