Picking Pears - Sept. 26, 2026

day trip to Oak Glen

5,000 feet up

home to California pears

and apples you can pick

apparently global warming

created a warm winter

suppressed spring blossoms,

negating picking the fall fruit

each farm stand was empty,

so in a store I bought bagged apples

with a ½ gallon of cider

and descended the mountain

there was a café serving apple pie

but in that moment, indulging

in such an American tradition

felt sad and hollow,

when the world

keeps reminding me

how the past is too quickly

becoming ancient history