"If we're not going to eat the fruit," she says,
"we may as well use the wood."

"Dock for the lake," he suggests.

"Diving board!" she adds.

"Canoe."

"Paddles."

They get to it,
    lopping limbs,
    breaking branches,
    chopping at the trunk
Hard work, but satisfying–
easy to ignore the fragrant fruit,
crushed to pulp beneath their feet.

Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.