Gifts from a Cherry Tree
May 14, 2014
My grandmother Moser made wonderful cherry pies from fruit
from a tree just across the road from her house, and I have loved fruit trees
ever since. A cherry tree is all about giving. Here’s a poem by Nathaniel
Perry, who lives in Virginia, giving us an orchard made of words. [Introduction
by Ted Kooser.]
Remaking a Neglected Orchard
It was a good idea, cutting away
the vines and ivy, trimming back
the chest-high thicket lazy years
had let grow here. Though it wasn’t for lack
of love for the trees, I’d like to point out.
Years love trees in a way we can’t
imagine. They just don’t use the fruit
like us; they want instead the slant
of sun through narrow branches, the buckshot
of rain on these old cherries. And we,
now that I think on it, want those
things too, we just always and desperately
want the sugar of the fruit, the best
we’ll get from this irascible land:
sweetness we can gather for years,
new stains staining the stains on our hands.
2 comments
Kathy - beautiful picture and lovely poem as well. My cherry tree just finished blooming - it is quite small but hope there will be some fruit. Thanks too for stopping by to visit me. Hope you have a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteDebbie--Lucky you to have a cherry tree! Hope you get some fruit--cherries are one of my favorites. Hope you have a great weekend.
ReplyDelete