Sandra and Maury's Trees in Retirement

memoir in the format of poetry

When my parents moved to Arizona

my father wanted a fig tree

for the backyard of their retirement home 

because of the verse from Scripture

"And every man 'neath his vine and fig tree

shall live in peace and unafraid"

or "And everyone 'neath their vine and fig tree

shall live in peace and unafraid"

My father was a veteran of World War II

he saw combat in the South Pacific

What follows the vine and fig tree verse

in the sung version is the exclamation: 

"And into plowshares turn their swords

nations shall learn war no more"

My father did not have all the implications of this

incorporated into his political repertoire

but he wanted a fig tree nevertheless

for its symbolism 

his self-expression his hope

Newcomers from Massachusetts they were

The man at the nursery sold my parents

a small fig tree its root ball wrapped in burlap

and a baby eucalyptus as well

the eucalyptus would shade their patio 

in no time he told my parents

My parents from Massachusetts 

were soon astonished by how rapidly

and how big trees and bushes grow

in Southern Arizona

An endless array of birds wanted

to share in the bounteous figs

and it fell to my mother to try

and try again different tactics

to keep the birds at bay

One year she put gauze all around the fig tree

another year she hung pieces of tin foil

amongst the branches

yet another year

she fastened an inflated owl

to work like a big eyed scarecrow

My mother came to the conclusion

what works best is whatever you do earliest

As for the eucalyptus 

my parents were astonished

at how tall it became so quickly

but everywhere on the patio

leaves were strewn

and on the pebble substitute for a lawn leaves

while its bark also shed 

falling closer to the trunk

This required raking in retirement

because a eucalyptus is what's called

a dirty tree in Arizona terminology

belatedly someone told them

it's a tree more for a park

not for a backyard towering 

disproportionate

in no time

But my parents enjoyed the figs

they were delicious

and the birds got the gleanings

from the ground

And my parents enjoyed

their coffee in the morning

sitting on the uncomfortable

wrought iron furniture

outside on their shaded

leaf strewn patio 

raking raking but always

a little behind

Reviews

[Lisasview]

Hi there,
First read of yours and I did enjoy it... We have two fig trees a black and white or some call it green.
I enjoyed the read but did not feel it was a poem but rather a wonderful short story...
Just food for thought...and, of course just my honest review..
Lisa, now in Spain

[Evyn Rubin]

Thank you for your review. I am glad you enjoyed it. Lisaview, I do consider it a poem, a narrative type poem. It also has conciseness, another characteristic of poetry.

[Evyn Rubin]

correction: Lisasview

[Lisasview]

Okay, just was putting in my two sense.
Lisa

[Lisasview]

I remember reading the one of yours 4 months ago and found it again.
But sadly I still do not see a comment from you and no reviews on any of my poems from you either.
Hope all is well,
Lisa, now in Spain

[Evyn Rubin]

Lisa, I could not get the comment button working to reply when you posted your review. I am sorry I didn't communicate that. But I did appreciate it, and clicked the thumbs up.

[Ken e Bujold]

Hello Evyn. I am a newbie and have been trolling away seeing what there is. I saw you were online, and then that my friend Lisaviews had reviewed this poem so I wander and in. Oh my god, what a gorgeous poem I discovered. I was enchanted from the first two lines, of your father wanting a fig tree for his new desert oasis. As I read on I could picture it so easily in my mind, the aging couple new in town wanting to fit in but not quite certain of how. I love the scripture references and how you have woven them into the text. The plowshares quote I've known from literature but had never sought out its source in the bible, until now. The Book of Joel (which I could pun on but wont) since we don't know each other yet. From the last verse, being in the past tense, I assume your parents have passed which adds even more poignancy to the piece.