Picking Peaches Poem by Jim Yerman

The older we get the more our family spreads out…that's the way it's supposed to be
for that is the nature of family…its intention…its destiny.

Time and space make it more difficult…we need to compare schedules…we need to plan…
Which is why we learn to cherish moments…and grab them when we can.

So when our daughter called and asked if we wanted to pick peaches…
We did not hesitate….
"Tell us where to meet! " we said. "Give us the time and date."

And so there we were part of our family…the part that was here any way
out in an orchard pickin' peaches…on a beautiful warm Spring day.

Peaches grow in little clusters…kind of like little families hanging on the tree.
Each peach is an individual with its own fate…its own destiny.

This one will be picked by a young girl…who can only reach so high
This one will end up on someone' s cereal…this one in a cobbler or a pie.

I hadn't thought much about it, but there in the orchard it occurred to me
just how much our family, any family, is like peaches on a tree…

We start out in little clusters…close together on one tree
and we each pick different paths leading to different destinies…

But unlike peaches families are blessed…this much I have learned
for once we leave the family tree…we have the ability to return.

For that is also a family's destiny…perhaps its greatest…grandest design
to keep returning, creating moments, for our lives to intertwine…

And a question popped into my head…quickly floating in on the breeze
as we met up to say goodbye after pickin' peaches off the trees…

I wonder:
Does a family thrive in times like these coming together to share a moment…or two?
The answer came to me as quickly…
I'll bet my peach pickin' heart they do!