In the cara cara trees
I walk down the row and stomp
on oranges rotting in the dirt;
the guts slide across the treads of my Timberlands.
I pick a shiner, twist it off the stem,
dig my fingernails into its peel,
tear off the rind and pith
and take a bite.
I look down and see the miles of tubing
and remember that day…
My dad and I were checking the irrigation;
We followed tubing up the rows
in between the trunks and weeds.
I knelt to fix an emitter.
My dad turned to me and said,
“I got the results back from my biopsy;
It came back positive.”
I nod my head, and we continue checking sprinklers.
I manage to focus by counting trees
And finishing off the row…
I take another bite of the cara cara
And look to the dirt.
There’s another orange in the path of my boots
and I stomp down.
Hannah Kleinkramer is twenty years old and is an English major currently attending Reedley Community College in California. She enjoys writing poetry and short fiction stories.