behindtheax

weekend

Fields of amber and suede
Barns of silver and stone
a country drive
to get a seasonal taste -
They argue in the back seat
it is so constant
we threaten to turn around
One wants to get a pumpkin, the other wants
An iced cappuccino
One wants the window open, the other wants it closed
One wants to talk, the other wants to shut her up.

The eldest daughter, her white earphones wrapped around her
throat like a scarf – Panic at the Disco roaring through her
temple - raises her voice so she too can hear her own
yelling
and then the dogs begin to whine – wondering why it’s taking
so bloody long to get to a park.
It is not quite working for us today.
And we’re about to give up on this outing when the youngest
spots a “U Pick” sign –some marker on a sheet of cardboard.
we pull into
rows of trees, blue skies, fruit hanging abundantly
We gather bags
And begin to indulge in one
of the first pleasures of mankind
The picking of apples
Plucking their round bodies of gold and red
from branches so laden, they’re thankful
that were here to offer relief
Red delicious, Empire, Cortland, Spartan,
Crispin, Idared, Jonagold, Macintosh

I disappear for a bit - four rows over in the
Spartans to simply stand in hushed sunshine–
Near is a birch
Wide and lovely, her white body, yellow leaves
borders the next farm
a stretch of field waiting for winter
an apple tree, a birch and a field
And I am suddenly thankful-
I turn back up the row
And spot my daughters
their conflict
For the time forgotten as
they
both reach for a red delicious
From the same branch.

posted by mary j. @ 9:28 AM