Skin your knees
on the rough bark of the tree
you climb, reaching for that
golden apricot

Hold it in your hand gently.
Feel your palm cradle its soft
tender skin

Discover the exquisite aroma of living
when you bite into its suppleness,
feel the nectar run down your chin
Breathe, Exhale, Relish it

Hold the taste in your tongue, gently, roll it around
say I’m okay around the mouthful
of exuberance, pick out the kernel
with pointed fingers

Grin, laugh,
Toss the pit along the seam of living
and watch it swirl

In the half light of the ripening dawn,
remember the lingering scent of that fruit
on your fingers
think of how the thriving apricot trees
relinquish their fruit yearly, but still stand
proudly after the harvest

You carry the seeds of your aspirations
in the soil of your lungs, let them grow into
the dazzling fruit, let their branches spread
into the cathedral of your chest.

And if, as you swallow the buds,
if they lodge in your throat occasionally,
the tiny hairs tickling the
tender skin of your trachea
smile and swallow anyway
Nourish yourself on the tree within you,
Thrive on its golden fruit.
Reap your luxurious harvest.