Today is the third Thursday of the month, and that means it’s time for . . .

I realize I mention this almost every time I share a poem, but it’s true and worth repeating: One of the things I love best about poetry . . .  is the way a fine poet can boil down some ordinary, everyday thing (like shopping for cherries) and make it So. Much. More. I hope you’ll enjoy this poem as much as I did.

Cherries
by Danusha Laméris

The woman standing across the Whole Foods aisle
over the pyramid of fruit, neatly arranged
under glossy lights, watched me drop
a handful into a paper bag, and said how do you do it?
I always have to check each one.
I looked down at the dark red fruit, each cherry
good in its own, particular way
the way breasts are good or birds or stars.
Doesn’t everything that shines carry its own shadow?
A scar across the surface, a worm buried in the sweet flesh.
Why not forget Death, the sharpened blade. Reach in,
take whatever falls into your hand.

This poem can be found in Poetry of Presence II: More Mindfulness Poems, edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R. Wilson, 2023, Grayson Books. Information about the poet can be found here.

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You can find A Gathering of Poetry every month . . . on the third Thursday.
Share some.
Read some.
Gather up some poetry!

(Bonny is hosting a special link-up for A Gathering of Poetry. Be sure to check it out!)