em memória de uma pitangueira cortada

what my parents did for me
they got it back fivefold

they fed me alright
they also cleaned after all sorts of shit
and gave me good and bad instructions
I sure used them all

but they had my joy and friends
and so did the dogs and cousins
who were all together back then
friends, family, cats and dogs
having our share of mammal self-unawareness

thanks to me
there was music there

had they listened to me
the fruit tree would there remain
and still today I know I would climb it
and spend my time there
eating fruit

I would only be more aware of the birds
which would not be for the worse

instead
now there's only a drain there
which takes the water down a discrete slope
across the whole house site
to run down the street to the
subterranean rainwater galleries

all the way to the river
all the way to the sea

to join the currents to Australia
Japan
Vietnam
maybe even Africa

or the North Pole
where it would freeze
and serve as a history book