Under the Orange Tree

Underneath the crimson sun hangs the honey-filled orange.

The bees buzz and bustle in the white willowed tree.

The brook bubbles and blows like a gurgling stomach,

And the morning glory opens her wings— an angel.

Only for a time.

“Peace?” The hooting owl will ask.

“How long could such a thing last?”

The chipmunk scurries underneath the meadow’s green haze,

With nothing to think about but to eat to its fill.

Nuts, seeds, fruit, and sleep.

Life is deemed simple, it seems.

Until the little boy slings a rock at its head.

Honey is sweet,

but the shiny red berries found on the trail are poison.

The mouse who found herself lucky enough to find a wedge of cheese,

Given a neck broken.

“Why can’t I breathe?” The mouse asks.

Silly mouse, that is only for some.

The deer sees the headlights coming down the road.

“Heaven?” The deer asks.

Prancing with joy, he runs into the stars.

The chameleon glows all his life.

“I will glow forever!”

A fountain of pride.

Of course,

Only one more color, one more time.

Everything seems a paradise.

“Why does death never fail to make his appearance?”

A mother cries, as her newborn’s soul fades into the stars.

Life guarantees death.

“Why does everyone love you, but hate me?”

Death asked Life.

“I am the beautiful lie, yet you are the dreadful truth.”

The scarlet heart beats and thumps,

Jumps, flutters, and creeps.

Never ending, until one day it decides to stop.

Decides.

Why must a tomato rot and a man lose his soul?

The soul longs for the stars, I suppose.

Maybe somewhere Death does not linger.

Are those laid in the graveyard truly gone?

Maybe.

Hope is a song that all man sings in his dying breath,

a longing for glory beyond glory.

But is it really there?

Where are the stars, and where are the ghosts?

We want to see them, or dare we even try.

Let there be a star where the chipmunk can go,

Without the worry of a broken skull.

Where the red berries are sweet,

 with no poison to heed.

Let there be a mountain that the mouse can climb,

With endless wedges of cheese.

May the deer be dancing on the stars,

The Heaven of his dreams.

Maybe there is a paradise where the chameleon will change colors endlessly.

Forever, O Death, let our hearts beat for eternity.

Decide that Life is of more value, please.

Dear Heart, why must you thump all just to cease?

You are a machine, but life has soul.

Let the tomato always be red, never giving way to rot.

Let the soul go where is best,

But if it is life, let the soul stay and be warm.

May all of life sit under an orange tree that always stands firm,

And let Death be kinder than a thousand lives.