Split, by the bottomland
creek in mid-October, a persimmon
lay on a bed of netted leaves,
waxy skin hiding the dazzle
jack o’ lantern fruit. I extract
an ant invader, lick my lips.
A little rot sweetens it for sucking,
like jelly Grandma boiled all summer—
the sun with sugar and pectin, a drop
or two of rosewater. Fallen
from a thicket with bark deeply
rifted and cracked; charred campfire
logs. Blow on them. When the lights
go out, these trees glow from within.
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