The Fruit That Hides Its Flower

The Fruit That Hides Its Flower
Yong Wan Choi 11.25.07

The fig flower that blooms and fades alone while we sleep
looks and looks again at its face in the mirror
how beautifully it tended its hidden flower
how long it had waited

By day it played innocent
living as if nothing had happened, until one day
from a sap-filled branch a new shoot burst out
in the pain of tearing flesh, the dawn dew
poured out a flood of tears

When the moon's face had changed ten times
on the night the new branch bore its young
the pain coming out between the ribs of its side
moaning with held breath, the first fruit was born
hugging the baby that smiled bright as the morning star
drinking the white milk without stopping to breathe
it was the happiest it had been in all its life

Before winter comes, before the leaves fall
my own blood must grow big and leave

Watching the late-summer sky where birds come flying
the tree weeps heart-aching tears
poor life, its flower and its seed both hidden within
crossing mountains and rivers to land in rich soil
will it live through the hungry off-years?