A Poetry Reading and Conversation

A Dream

I walked along a wildwood path,
a persimmon glowed come hither
& a small gray bird lit upon my arm
holding a branch that held a pear,
the shape of an invitation.

I’d never had a choice like this—
something good or something gooder.
My toes pressed into the loamy earth—
it had rained the night before
& the sky pressed some kind of blue
as if from an oil paint tube.

Have you never imagined
how the ground you set your foot upon
becomes holy?

The bird took flight leaving the branch
at my feet.

I ate both the pear and the persimmon that morning.

Anyone would have done the same

Alicia Elkhort