small teachers

without gloves               (not because I think it is fair    but

I find each blister beetle            in the foliage

and allow them to welt my skin              before drowning

them in            soapy water     pinching off growing

tomato leaves                           peppery live smell

is vulvar           and reminds me of their thighs pinning

back my ears                   I ask myself what it is I want

to learn              of                         tenderness