Next in this series on tree poems comes Cynthia Gallaher’s whimsical poem “Fruit Trees.” This poem evokes childhood memories with characters like Old man Peesel to paint a picture of girls growing up on the outskirts of Chicago.

Fruit Trees
for Mary

Old man Peesel’s cherry orchard
of the empty lot prairie,
reddened our fingers and lips,
until the shotgun glittered
from his garage window
across the alley.

We bolted past the pear tree
into a neighbor’s yard,
three years waiting before
green fruit and no partridges.

But at the end of summer,
apples and wild plums
found their way to the streets
on their own,
a mad smash of pulp and
tangy fragrance,
our shoes to carry
a portion of their crushed sweetness
back to school.

Leaves turned rusty,
but thorn apples
still clung tightly to
park district trees,
branches we girls climbed
higher than boys on Thursdays,
thanks to acrobatics and ballet
on Wednesdays.

We plucked sour-smooth fruit,
cradled each in bent fingers
like a dart,
and aimed,
whipped,
right at boys’ throats,
to take their breath away,
until we found
other methods.

*From the CD: Tree Magic: Nature’s Antennas, SunShine Press Publications, Longmont, CO, 2004
Printed with permission of the author.

It’s wondrous to think of all the ways that trees are a part of childhood. This poem vividly takes us back to the cherry, pear, apple, wild plum, and thorn apple (crataegus or hawthorn) tree as bastions of the delicious, the longed for, the messy, and the girl-weapon. Interesting that folklore about the hawthorn associates it with fairies, and  being deadly to vampires. I wonder if Cynthia and her friend Mary felt either of these two powers when climbing these park district trees and pelting the boys!

This poem also conveys a sense of place, with the old man and his shotgun, the kids running around the neighborhoods, tracking smooshy apples into school, and climbing trees.  It may not seem like it, but it’s a city setting. The scene is reminiscent of a play or movie,  such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “A Christmas Story.”

I love the girl-power in this poem! These girls know how to take the  boys’ breaths away, and they’re not too afraid of the shotgun, either.  They’re also using acrobatics and ballet in some innovative ways.

By using this poem as a springboard for your own writing, you can write about how trees influenced your own childhood. Which kinds of trees were in your yard and neighborhood?  What stories can you remember about them? How did they influence your life? Did you have any favorites?  How would you describe the trees?  Gallaher uses imagery sparingly, which makes it stand out  in the story line of her poem.  Two examples of this are leaves turned rusty and sour smooth fruit. What about friends: How did you play and grow up together?  Use the playfulness of this poem as a guide to help you play with your writing.