Pruning

Just another word
for amputation.
Fleshed of leaves
the hedge gapes open
like a charnel house –
clawed fingers, knuckles, elbow joints
fused in a mass of spikes and barbs.
An eye for cramped and crooked growth,
long handled cutters and a pair of gloves
will see you straight.
                                Now pull the twigs aside.
See the main stems –long bones, twisted
tight as cables in the bitter winter.
Pick those thinner than your wrist
and slice them through. The stumps may bleed 
but this will clot and heal the gash.


              Now drag your cuttings out
and burn them.
Thin as lace and filled with air, the hedge
will fade from sight
                              until the warm days come,
when overnight it grows a lush green pelt.
It smells of sunshine.
Its dappled heart is loud with sparrows.

How to eat cherries