She comes bearing fruit, ancient
by way of Asia, Africa, Alabama,
digging for time, six thousand years
to the other side of the world.
She comes bearing fruit, rock-
serious ovaries birthed without,
breaking, blooming white
as winter leaving overnight.
She comes bearing fruit, ripe,
finger-circled gifts boxed, settled
into levels, for reduced swelling,
burning heart of a late summer sun.
My mother never studied history,
faraway lands, unplanted dirt yields
joy, blooms where she plants, says,
If it grows, it grows.
She comes bearing fruit, asks
Do you like apricots? I don’t
answer, I open to be cured,
recover, plant a seed.
Valerie A. Smith is pleased to have had “Expert of the Apricot Groves” previously published by Solstice Literary Magazine. It will appear in Smith’s debut collection of poetry, Back to Alabama, forthcoming from Sundress Publications. She has a PhD from Georgia State University and a MA from Kennesaw State University where she currently teaches English. Above all, she values spending quality time with her family.
