I waved at a bag pinned to a branch in the apple tree –
it caught me off guard – like a glimpse of Her
at a corner on Halsted as I rode a Nighthawk’s tail –
I waved and she waved as all the sticky bitters fade.
I waved at a bag pinned to an apple tree, flapping
below a near full moon and a contrail, and I laughed
at all the leavings, disarmed in a robe, slippered and new
to forgiveness, new to know that Eddie never left the war –
Never left highschool, never left his bludgeoned hope,
always thrashing in an apple tree, along a power line,
a squirrel run sagged long before a breaking.
Or to place a kiss on the cheek of the dying,
soft and sallow – the warm tip of grief –
is not to know an end. No, there is a bag in an apple tree.
There is an impulse, and all the sticky bitters fade.
Image: Adrien Converse on Unsplash
Sweet and Bitter Greens 
::grabbing for the kleenex:: That last stanza…
Thank you. Isn’t it strange that a small surprise impulsive gesture can heal so much.
D
Devon, poems in a sense are healers. If not for the poet, certainly in some way for the reader. An exceptional piece of writing!
Thank you, Lance. Have you noticed that “forgiveness” only truly occurs when we are caught with our guard down, and that it can manifest itself in something as simple as a wave, a recognition that the other is as flawed as we? God I am getting old. LOL. But what other ponderation is worth a geezer’s time?
D
My sincere pleasure, Devon. Very true and as you state, less noticed as we grow older. More of a reflex. However, with each generation it seems to have disappeared. But even with us old geezers, it’s more a thought than a gesture- simply because it’s become entirely unnoticed!
Definitely a reflex, Lance. I do hope that more people have that experience and understand what it is, rather than recoil at their own unconscious willingness to just let things go.
D
Devon, from years of generational training, then completely fell to the waste side- other than a few glimmers of hope here and there. I believe it’s due to a fear of being socially unacceptable.
Yes, we are in a time of deep entrenchment. Sad. But I’d rather maintain hope in the instinctual impulse toward compassion and cooperation that precedes it.
D
Perhaps we’ll see a new dawn with the Covid19 looming- it’s a wake up call.
Yes, this outbreak requires full cooperation among “enemies”, however much the powers that be seek to downplay its import.
D
This certainly is not the time to be sweeping a deadly virus under the rug. However, it is the time to be listening to healthcare experts and not a bunch of self-proclaimed MD’s!
I hear that!
D