Manchineel.

Beneath the manchineel tree
my father is laid to rest
for he desired to relish
the poisonous fruit
the creaking
branches
bore..
he beckoned me close
prompting me a morsel
of the fleshy green
from eden's apple
hesitant and uneasy
I shook my head 'no'
his eyes full of greed
he drank its juice
as the
first dew
plopped
upon my forehead
beneath the big manchineel tree
I cried out in pain for it singed
cradling my face in my hands
I glanced at my father
kneeled on the ground
tearing at his throat
as the juice dripped
down his stubbly chin
and I despaired
for the poison
racked his body
a trembling, convulsing plight
before all that lay before me
was the still,
cold body
of my father laid to rest
beneath the manchineel tree.