Orchard Shade

This was an old country house
always ours we never sold it.
I feel the echoes of its heart
noises of my grandmother
My mother aunts and uncles
all talking from inside
the old clapboard frame

we few are all
that is left of it now
The summer heat comes as always
The orchard with branches
laden with apples
swollen and fertile
like the belly
of a pregnant woman.
Seeking the shade for its coolness
we know where to look
this place holds no secrets from us.
The cool air from the old willow tree
drops its chlorophyll purity.on us.
Awakening our
 inner child once more.
from its long dormant sleep.
The breeze flows cool
under the green canopy
of the willow branches.
I see the rose arbor rickety
and broken yet still full of flowers
almost too heavy a load
for its broken bones.
The wheelbarrow rusted
lay in the same spot for years
as if it awaits my daddy’s return.
One that he cannot make anymore.
for him to whisk his children
about the orchard on the wheelbarrow.
We watch the e sun circle
in a perfect arc over the horizon
reliving our memories
our lives our loves.
The bees
are drinking the grapes dry
overloading on their sweetness.
A constant happy hum.
The cold night air will send
Them back to their hives filled with pollen.
as we will return to our beds
all of us sweeter for the darkness.