Apricot Tree in the City

Aptly said, he noted

No need for approval, she muttered

Looking down

Patterns on the sidewalk

Sent a message

There’s a word for that

There’s a name they give you

The wings of a bird thrummed a subtle message

 

The apricot tree had over the year

Produced one perfect, unfathomable fruit

Of soft baby hairs and an unassuming kernel

 

I don’t need to be apt for you, she said

She threw the kernel and hopscotched down the street

The apartment buildings lined like sentinels

She hopped and leaped and bent to regain the kernel

swallowing the last bit of the fruit’s sweetness

 

-Melanie DuBose 

 

Melanie DuBose advocates for equity in arts education and teaches filmmaking to teenagers in East LA. Recent poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Nixes Mate Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, Red Flag Poetry Express, antinarrative journal, Right Hand Pointing/One Sentence Poems, Ekphrastic Review, and Contemporary Haibun. She once received an award from the National Weather Association for her work with children and wetland preservation.