Winter Fruit (For Mary O.) Poem by r james sterzinger

God, in the dead of winter
Who would have thought it?

It could have been
Apples or plums
It wasn't though.
Just had to be raspberries and peaches!

Plums,
Apples
A half rotten pear
Now that would have been a reprieve!

How about a grapefruit,
Banana
Something with a sense of carnality?
Now that would have made me smile
At least for a minute or two.

May have had some hope
In the dead of winter.
Some brightness at the end of the tunnel.

But this!
Hairy Fruit!
My God!
Less like a stay of execution
More like a cruel joke,
(With two months more of winter)

I slice the peaches
I put the raspberries in a bowl
Sprinkle a little sugar on top
Pour in a little milk

I sit by the table
Stare out the window
Watch the snow
Fill up my yard

Again