<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span style="color: black; "><font>Fig Tree</font></span><span style="color: black; "><br><br>Offering herself to strangers,<br>ripe purple ova,<br>sweet sacks of seeds<br>soft for the squeezing and tasting--<br>somebody tell her<br>not to do that!<br>Sprawled all over the sidewalk<br>for any dogwalker to finger,<br>any old lady, hobbling by on her walker, gets one,<br>or homeless guy settling in for a smoke,<br>or surreptitious single mother<br>with her plastic bags,<br>her army of climbing kids.<br>Not very ladylike,<br>crotch open for a sneakered foot,<br>a panting embrace,<br>and all that black honey, oozing.<br>See how her heart’s left<br>smashed on the sidewalk<br>for feral cats to sniff,<br>her intimate goo underfoot,<br>pecked by pigeons, swarmed with ants.<br>Should have pruned her harder,<br>brought her up short<br>before she showed her desire so freely<br>upraised arms opening to sky, profligate<br>branches that could poke somebody’s eye out:<br>such crazy need to feed the world.</span><div><span style="color: black; "><br></span></div><div><span style="color: black; "><font><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>- Allison Luterman</font></span></div></body></html>