A man walks through his life
as he did when he was a boy,
taking a pear here, an apple there,
three peaches.
It is easy. They are there, by the roadside.
I want to say to him, stop.
I want to say to him, where is the plum tree you planted?
But how can I say this?
I suck on the pit of my question,
I who also eat daily the labor of others.
~ Jane Hirshfield
from After
