Berry-picking birds
twill overhead, launching
with a rustle.
They revel in abundance,
gorge themselves.
Boughs bend,
brimming with bulbous weight.
She is overcome.
Red bursts of berry bounty,
begging you to pick.
Relieve her
of this burden she brought forth
for you.
For you, these berries bloomed.
Rip them free.
Let her be empty again,
weightless,
free to shake wildly in the wind.
She never wanted
to be stunted,
generously hung,
fertile.
As the birds tear
her berries from bough,
she is skinned.
Sloughed of worth,
renewed
for another season.