Montmorency fruit plucked

from trees along Saginaw Bay, tossed

into baskets carrying season’s stain

to kitchens, roiling pots, crimped crust

the tang of cherry mash steamed

sour and sweet, the blade-bleed

of juice that flavors dreams, pits sucked

clean of blush and meat, tucked and sewn

with embroidery thread into pillows

that clatter like castanets, fragrant

of orchard and pie, blossom and stem

and the cradlesong of prayer beads undone

Lucinda Trew lives, writes, walks dogs and teaches in Union County, N.C. Her poetry and prose have appeared in Cathexis Northwest, Mockingheart Review, storySouth, Eastern Iowa Review and other journals and anthologies. She is the recipient of Boulevard Magazine’s 2023 Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets and a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee.