Black isn't a Color ➵ poems

cherries

One sunny afternoon
On the pavements walked a little boy
Wind blowing on his hair
Wild curiosity in the air
He's never been in this neighborhood before
But his feet couldn't stop walking some more
When suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks
Eyes looking through fence cracks
Where bushes of cherries populated gardens
Red and plump and arden
So much red his mouth starts to water
Oh how sweet they would taste on his tongue after
It was almost like a dream
That his pants couldn't help but scream

The gates were wide open to his surprise
So he trespassed and spoiled his eyes
He picked on the cherries
A few bursting on his fingers
Sticky and wet like crushed berries
He bit his lip and ate one
Then two then four
His mind running wild on the score

Then ran away when he was done
He kept on walking
More low fences on the side
More cherries more temptation
More sweetness more intoxication
He took way too much than he needed
From unguarded fences
No one to tell him no
No one to tell him he's reckless
His mouth dripped red
With his sugar stained hands
He could still taste the sweetness
Lingering in the wetness
Eventually he ran out of cherries
And he strolled to find other unlocked doors
Desperation in his veins
For he wanted more of the inebriating daze

Then came one house with tall brick walls
No low fences
No open gates
Perhaps there's cherries in there
Maybe even more than he can estimate
But he couldn't quite tell
So he jumped high and climbed
Intrigued by obscurity
Urged by compulsivity
The wall was taller than he expected
Sweat broke through his forehead
And he thought it must be a dead end

Once he reached the top
His eyes widened and his jaw dropped
For it was nothing he could've imagined
A garden teeming with cherries 
Here and there
Rarely touched, rarely seen
As if no one even tried to dare
And whomever was the last
Was the reason the wall was cast
He could already imagine what they taste
And he wasn't going to let this go to waste

He let himself fall
And landed on the soil
Taking in the view
Breathing in the dew
This is something new
And for the first time it kicked in
He was witnessing beauty not everyone had luxury to
Butterflies and flowers
Bushes and clovers
This was all his until the owner comes over
It didn't take him long to pick
Snatching a big handful of cherries from their branches
Shoving them into his hungry mouth
He indulged and indulged to his greed
He almost forgot he wasn't supposed to be there and heed

No one caught him, no one saw
The only witnesses were the bees and their was honey raw
Even the shy butterflies fell in love with him in awe
The last person there left it a mess
So many flies, so many pests
They had to rebuild the garden with no rest
And maybe this boy would finally be different from the rest
It was heaven for a while
It almost drove him mad
How could something be so good?
The previous gardens all of a sudden never could

But nothing lasts forever
Not even thrill
The excitement in his eyes died off
He no longer got his fill
After he took and took somehow the cherries still didn't suffice
He got what he wanted but at what price?
He was still hungry even though he was full
Nothing in that garden was enough anymore
Not the honey, not the leaves
The bees begged him to stay when he decided to leave
Pulling his feet back when he climbed the wall again
However, there was nothing they can do to stop him then

And so the boy was back on his stride
In search for something not even he knew what
Whilst the bees and butterflies missed him
Behind those brick high walls
Waiting for him to return 
Even though deep inside they knew he wouldn’t

He left it a mess
Just like the person before him
They were wrong when they thought it would finally be him
And now they have to start from scratch again
Pick up the fallen branches
Grow back empty patches

Why do they always take?
And abandon when there’s nothing left?
Perhaps the walls aren’t high enough
Maybe the pricks should be more deadly
This way everyone would keep out their games
And stop taking cherries from my garden already