Davidia involucrata var. vilmorinian
I touch unfamiliar red fruit
husks like fabric on a line, wet and loose -
when I lift one by its stalk,
it drops, leaving behind a red string -
I read each contains a kernel,
a nut with several seeds requiring
slow sleep in leaf mould before
beginning to grow, requiring years
of nuturing before it might become
a tree laden with handkerchieves,
alive with doves.
