“The Humble & Homely Bosc Pear” by J. Archer Avary

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autumn foraging

the last of the wild pears

forever a reminder

of chin-juice holiday

picnic lunch weekends

those military surplus

blankets that scratched

your bare legs raw

buckets of fried chicken

with the colonel’s

secret blend of eleven

herbs and spices

what we find here now

the oranges and reds

some muted yellows

are the colours of

these fading halcyon days

of infinite possibility

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J. Archer Avary (he/him) is a former TV weatherman. His work has appeared/is forthcoming in The Riot Act, Burnt Breakfast Mag, The Daily Drunk, Honest Ulsterman, The Remnant Archive, and Rejection Letters. He lives on a tiny island in the English Channel.

Twitter: @j_archer_avary