Apricot trees stripped of anticipated fruit
are left without their ornamental ways.
High-desert’s cloak, post-equinoctial frost
is gone, but unforgiven: another year
of barrenness is born—peach, cherry, plum;
blooms—wedding-white, wind-torn—annulled.
Junipers offering berries, a go-to gin,
predominate the arid landscape, wind—
intensifying—loosens peeling paint,
labellum parching over time. One must
subsist upon another sweetness ripening
when summer brings its heat and barking dogs,
Sirius skies. The sunset rests some plums
and apricots upon the mountain range.

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Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Mark Katrinak is now a resident of Golden Valley, AZ, and works for a behavioral health agency. He enjoys cats, birds, fine wine, and spending time with his family.