"An indecent indehiscence" -- Stanley Yensser
No other ripeness, not even
a fig's, not even adolescence's
sexual crescendo, matches
the sap-blown pudding
of persimmon's deliquescence.
Teeth release what the rind barely holds,
which tells no lies and teaches no lessons.
Michael Jones' poetry has appeared in journals such as Beloit Poetry Journal and Tar River Poetry; also in a chapbook, Moved (Kattywompus, 2016). He has taught in city schools since 1990.