Plum harvesting
on the day before he leaves for university
We gazed at the spring foam
racing over the branches,
wondering at such beauty
and potential.
We watched anxiously
for the first fruit to appear…
Would they set?
Would the wind knock them off?
The branches looked so fragile.
We caught sight - in unbelief -
of the full clusters, ripening
to warm greens and pinks,
impossibly, suddenly there.
Now the harvesting,
colanders of sweet maturity.
Gathered and shared,
stewed and crumbled,
as we prepare to drop him off
to feast on these autumn days.
And we will wait
thankful, a little sad, and hopeful
for a homecoming jar
of preserves.
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