we’re old vines you and I

our best vintages a pretty memory

but our fruit retains some sweetness yet

the first frost hasn’t touched it

it’s ready to be plucked and pressed

into the second wine, la piquette,

consumed in grey clay pitchers

by the farmers in the village

sitting in their stuccoed kitchens

in their muddy boots and overalls

it lacks the richer notes of

for example

the grands crus of Bordeaux

but it sits well with Camembert

which, like you and I,

grows softer and more flavorful

as it ripens

(originally published in Eunoia)