with its dark web of branches
offering galaxies of darkening orbs.
At Idiot’s Grace Farm – Pick Your Own
my middle-school nephew proudly
conquers ladders and black hole branches
one star at a time. I stand below,
an Odin steadying the ladder,
belly-bucket layering with half-hearted
labors, one eye on him, the other
on cherries bouncing below.
We consume half the universe
in nuclear bursts of flavor,
ground littered with leaves
of teenage Loki’s enthusiasm.
We go to weigh our efforts.
The orchard owners are dwarfed
by hidden hard work, preaching
picking etiquette, stained scales.
Clouds gather over the Columbia River.
We read the runes and return
to Midgard, WA, laden with treasure.
Matthew James Friday is a British born writer and teacher. He has had many poems published in US and international journals. His first chapbook The Residents is due to be published by Finishing Line Press in summer 2024. He has published numerous micro-chapbooks with the Origami Poems Project. Poems are forthcoming in The Potomac Review, New Contrast, and The Amsterdam Quarterly. Matthew is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet. Visit his website at matthewfriday.weebly.com
Image: planetnatural.com
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