dusky
tarnished
copper
earth
fallow
suffocated
by the red
blooded orb
outfitting
Dante’s inferno

once verdant
rows
of plump
garnet strawberries
ripened peaches
blackberries
inky
as the night sky
all tangled together
golden chains
in the overflowing
compartment of
grandmother’s antique
jewelry box

so entwined
they appeared
one fruit
blossoming from
the green earth
the sun
its doting mother
her rays
tropical milk

the outskirts of
the pasture
dotted
with velvety violets
virgin white lilies
delicate bougainvilleas

now
a gravesite
with a blank
epitaph