Poetry: “Vinegar Ceremony” by Cleo Qian

Vinegar Ceremony

after Mary Ruefle

I bury my hatred in the graveyard

I water my hatred with vinegar

I fertilize my hatred with salt

My hatred grows deep like a tuber

I leave my hatred to dry

Maybe my hatred will die

My hatred still grows without water

Its leaves still sprout without sun

My hatred grows teeth like a shadow

Its fruit is a hard metal bomb

My hatred lives on through my singing

Repelling hummingbirds, ladybugs, worms

My hatred has grown very tall

Its fingers all dangle with seeds

I peek from the corner of my vision

Will my hatred be forgotten if I kill it?

I am afraid to pull it out by the root

About Cleo Qian

Cleo Qian is a writer from southern California. Her work has been published in The Guardian, Shenandoah, Pleiades, AAWW's The Margins and elsewhere. Her first book, LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO, is forthcoming from TIn House in 2023.