Oil on Canvas
bountiful branches sway through the warm summer breeze, / offering refuge from the hot sun / with orange globs of sweetness that dance before you. / you lean and pick and peel and pluck. / juice dripping, / you reminisce on the summers of past: / of / mothers who picked clementines, / and of / brothers who danced under the tree’s shade, / and of / bees who feasted on the flower’s early nectar; / you begin to reflect on the reciprocal and cyclical nature of our natural ecosystems / and our reliance on the systems of reciprocity we so seek to / commodify, exploit, and ultimately destroy / to try and make a profit. / as you eat the final piece of the clementine / you swear a silent oath / to care for each clementine tree you see / and to never take more than you need.
Munteanu