Almond trees
In early September this Andalusian soil
in which these almond trees stand
is friable and dry as a bone
their branches have been
clipped and stripped
of their fruit and foliage
Marshalled in their rugged groves
these neighbours are condemned
to stand two metres apart
and so separated
by an infinitely sad
and withering silence
Yet come the New Year
this entire terrain
will be swathed in a soft blanket
of pink and white blossom
as new life surges through
the wiry willowy branches
John Lyons