The Fig Tree
I bought a little
three dollar clearance
turkey fig twig
from the scratch and dent
plant cart at Home Depot
a decade ago
today, there is no sign
that it was ever
the runt of any litter –
it stands tall and yields
an abundance of tender fruit
it simply needed time and space
and nurturing
the fig tree at Denise R’s house
down Pinckney Colony Road
not far from Salk’s monkey farm
smelled of fermentation
stood tall and took crews
with ladders to pick its fruit
I was a fig picker once at that tree
My young daughters picked
from my mother’s tree and
took to the kitchen
making strawberry pigs
and licking spoons
after dipping the
homemade preserves
into freshly-boiled mason jars
as they canned time and memories
in jars and sealed them tightly
with a pop-button lid
this once dispirited
Charlie Brown fig tree
that stands more like
Wonder Woman today
conjures welcome memories
but more than that –
it beckons more
canning of precious
family memories
while there is time
Monkey Farm:
