Strangest, Sweetest Fruits
Strangest, Sweetest Fruits
by Kelp
It happens sometimes in country graveyards
A seed will travel in the wind
And in time a fruit tree will be growing
Over the body of the dead.
In the cemetery outside our town
Over the grave of a local
Poet now long dead, a friend to friends now
Long dead, a tall pear tree hovers.
The gravestone is now partially rubble
Names and dates indiscernible.
Luscious pears hang down heavy from the limbs
Yellow-green and pink in the sun.
No one dared to eat those fruits, or touch them.
Afraid of them, these fruits of death.
And so they dropped from the tree to the ground
Food for squirrels, or left to rot.
Then one sublime summer’s day, two lovers
Walking hand-in-hand, and laughing
Happy to be alive and together
Oblivious to where they were.
Dangling in oblivion, the lovers
Strolled, entranced, amongst the gravestones
And stopped beneath the cool shade of the tree
To breathe in deeply the perfume.
Light-headed and light-hearted, the woman
Swooped and caught a pear as it fell
From the towering tree, and held the fruit
Up in her hand for them to see.
Its yellow skin, blushed with pink, glittering
In the sun, was entirely
Unblemished, and its shape was perfect too.
Impulsively she took a bite.
As he looked on with awe, he saw her eyes
Grow large and bright like fiery orbs,
Her lips, they glistened, and her cheeks turned red.
“Are you okay?” he sobbed. “My dear?”
“Oh yes!” she said. “It’s oh so sweet, please take
A bite yourself. It’s oh so sweet,”
She said again, and handed him the fruit.
He took a bite and closed his eyes.
The taste was so strong, he fell to his knees.
And took another, larger bite.
They ate until they had their fill. He said:
“I now can see the name that’s on the stone.”
She said: “I can also see it clearly.”
“Let’s go into town,” he said,
“And see what we can find.” And thus they went
To find out more about the man.
Three days later they stood at the doorway
Of the house where the man had lived.
It appeared abandoned. No one answered.
It was unlocked so they went in.
Somehow they knew just where to go, just where
To find what they were looking for.
There was a cedar chest in the corner
The top was easily dislodged.
She grabbed her lover’s arm, and he held tight
To her. Together they beheld
A sight that took away their breath: The box
Was filled with fruits of diverse types.
Apples and pears, peaches and plums, berries
Of all colors, shapes and sizes
All miraculously preserved, as fresh
As the day they were harvested.
A rich and pleasant fragrance filled the room
The colors of the fruits were bright
And brilliant, bathed in a surreal splendor.
The lovers could not catch their breath.
They looked at each other in disbelief
They knew not what to do, or how
To comprehend what the man – this poet –
Had done in secret – no one knew.
They sat down somber in front of the chest
Each of them took a fruit in hand.
As tears rolled down their youthful cheeks, they ate
The strangest fruits, the sweetest fruits.