The incompetence of jade eggs is beautiful,

almost senescent in their glowing innocence

and I keep them cupped in the palm of my hand

as if I haven’t pinched them,

pilfered them with mostly good intentions

plucked them with purposeful prudence

from my mother’s nest for my own.

For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed

on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them.

If she hadn’t wanted them taken,

then she should’ve watched more carefully

when I presented the blindfold –

a choice, one soft delicate choice, but one willingly made.

Which sable venus could steal this from me now?

None, none at all - for she already

knows they are

worthless.

Sydney Sheltz-Kempf began writing poetry to cope with the stress of her PhD in Developmental Neurobiology. Previous work can be found in Intima: Journal of Narrative Medicine, Sonder Midwest, Dying Dahlia Review, Atlas + Alice, Gateway Review, Evocations Review, and elsewhere. Her chapbooks include “Adding Up Forever: A Memoir” (Poet’s Haven, 2018), “Kissing the Face of the Grandfather Clock” (Bottlecap Press, 2022), and “An Experiment Gone Wrong” (Audience Askew, forthcoming).