Snapshots from an Orchard in Greece - a haibun

Rhodes island has some of the best citrus fruits

Brushstrokes of white and gray paint the bright blue canvas of the sky, as a radiant arch of refracted light pierces through the humid air. Beams of amber warmth gently caress our faces as we laugh and run and shout; and we don’t care if cold pearly pebbles blunder into our shoes, if they tickle our feet and slip into our wet socks, for we are immersed in the now, in the bright twinkle of each other’s eyes. I sprint and crouch under a cloud of thick foliage, as you flip your sun-tanned wrist and an orange globe speeds in my direction. I catch it and eagerly peel its skin, revealing plump, juicy pods of holy nectar.

When I close my mouth,

I’m filled with sweet and sour

And forget about the cold