Locard’s Exchange Principle

Almond trees flower early

whispers of Spring, 

even when its amygdaloid leaves

are unwilling, still it promises 

from wands of branches

to meet the wind, its blossom,

a gift of light to the darkness 

of soil, then dressed in pale petals.

This exchange in biological dialogue

is followed by our own;

with crow and woodpecker,

we anticipate their velveteen drupes -

the bounty in green of every virgin seed,

bitter then sweet within us, 

though this fruit is always late

in the way that love ripens.

But time is meaningless 

to the potential immortality

of any tree: roots turn in 

and with the earth, each a witness 

to the other, and an almond,

in wisdom, watches, like Mercury

in iron silence, in silent patience,

both held tidally to the sun.

And here, a day can also feel like a year, 

to wait is difficult - poor Phyllis,

but if I die of sadness too, 

my amygdala in search of touch,

the bloom of affection, I would trade

my molecules alongside her,

as a message of unity - to share 

the long fate of an almond tree. 

Image is from here: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Gogh_-_Blühende_Mandelbaumzweige.jpeg

Also on Twitter, the drupes: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Almond_branch_on_tree_near_Bethlehem,_West_Bank.jpg