Orchard Poem by Jay Alexander

Orchard

The manicured garden
With fountain spouting
Brilliant light, gives no sense
That the wood backstops
An orchard beyond.
The couple run, almost slide,
Down sloping green, she
Faster than him,
Cuts through the wood,
Ducking low hung branches,
Bursts onto the
Orchard, which slopes upwards.
He catches her fleetingly,
Among the apple trees,
Then disappearing over the
Hill's brow.
Breathless he's up there too,
But where is she?
She's scaled a low stone wall,
And walks along a path
Towards the sea,
Stopping by a stone structure,
Swirling with runic signs;
The sea below glitters
Like a rough diamond.
Whew! That was a rush,
He says, joining her.
Then he leans against
The stone column:
I'm quite thirsty now.
The sunlight flashes
Through her flaming hair:
Take this, she says,
Handing him an apple.