The Ungiving Tree E

Saw my face in a dead tree. Out where nobody goes. No leaves, but still breathing. Still digging below. Roots in the dirt like wires. Looking for something wet. Not tryna look good again. Not tryna earn respect. Still tryna grow some fruit. Still tryna hold some meat. Still tryna make some move for people who came Too late and yet remember. Nobody brought water, nobody asked why. They only loved the branches when the sun got High. So fuck 'em, let 'em stand in the Heat. Fuck 'em, let 'em break on my feet. You want fruit, grow your own. You want shade, go back home. Want what I gave, never what I was. Now the roots grow down and the bodies come Up. Fuck 'em, no shade, no love. No shade, no fruit, no good, no use. No shade, no fruit, no me for you. Let the sun stay up for days. Let's cook them where they lay. Lips split back, gums gone black, Tongues dry in their mouths. They crawl to the tree, open knees through the Shade. One inch of shade, branches pull away. No fruit, only scent, sweet and wet overhead. They bite the bark, splinter sap, blood runs back. Still they chew, still they starve. Stomachs full, ribs push through, fruit grows ripe Just out of view. Pop goes one, pop goes Two. The tree keeps count, the tree knows who. Roots weep meat, the fruit may melt. The rest around the bones. Pass the apple to the throat. Don't scream, you'll split it open. One behind the tongue, one inside the eye. One drinks from the stomach while the heart stays Alive. They puke soil, juice. They choke leaves, lift. Skin sinks into roots. First out, little white teeth. Through the ground, crack, crack, That is not the Wood. Bright green blood red. Some of them are breathing yet. Faces down, mouths in mud. Roots run deep and branches bud. By morning, no more sound. One fruit, heavy, red, and warm. The tree bends low as though offering. But no one Is left to eat.