by Susanne Mathies
(11/25/09)
"Hey -- catch this!" We bowl the wreck of the falling fruit over to our twins on the other side of the bough. They take aim and kick it out into the sky in a perfect arc.
"Well done, partners!" Four beams on four cherry cheeks.
We start rocking, back and forth, getting closer to the twins with each swing. There! We touch.
"Cherry, cherry!," we cry out merrily.
"Cheeky, cheeky!" They are in boisterous spirits. We watch their gleaming round bodies gyrating in unison, twinkling at us. We feel our protective leaves rustling. Fresh green descending, cooling. Time to get the juice back into our flesh. Time to prepare for the real swing.
"Cheeky, cheeky!" The twins have started rocking on their side. Only a little way, just until the sleek bottoms of their berries catch the light. Then back again.
"Cherry, cherry!" We shout lustily, entering into the spirit. Our swings are getting wider now. Jerky swerves. Wild veerings towards the twin danglings. A quick evasive twitch to avoid collision. Swift sliding in between twin stalks. Swinging in rhythm.
"Let's twist!," they shout.
"Let's get dizzy!," we shout back. Twin fruit entangled with twin fruit. Slim twin stems rubbing against slim twin stems, swishing back and forth. Our dangling bulging cherries push their way in between theirs. Hard shiny skins touching and pressing, sensing soft pulp inside. We move together. With every swing, cherry brushes cherry, smooth skins stroking, rubbing, flicking little touches. We jerk together. Violent swerves, supple stems rolling in ribald rotations. Pecking touches from fruit to fruit.
"Flick us off," the twins cry out, 'Brush us, sweep us away!"
Rapid rubbings from sticky fruit. Twins against twins.
A small tweaking pain as our stems snap off. We are flying, soaring, entangled, clutching twins in ecstatic grasp.
