The pears on my counter are blushing, ripening. Picking one up, I imagine their journey and all the hands that cradled them before they made their way here
They were grown, quite likely, nearby in Kelseyville— lauded as the pear capital of the world But unless I venture from Kelseyville’s Main Street I won’t see thriving pear orchards planted generations ago I won’t see beyond the fruits’ alluring shapes and colors…
The delivery truck driver who unloaded an impressive haul of pears at the grocery store produce department employees who unpacked arranged an inviting selection
Pear sheds where thousands of these stemmed jewels were sorted, packed, readied for shipping
Hands efficiently plucked one after another, row after row farmers, laborers who nurtured, tended each tree families whose toil preceded tractors who married pear seeds and saplings to rich soil
I consider further back still, centuries and millennia the earliest stewards of these lands…
In a day or two I will savor and share these pears I didn’t grow.
Kristi Ellis Witt began sharing her poetry and fiction publicly a few years ago and believes every community needs art in all its forms—from literary, to visual, to performing. She taught high school English in the North Bay for many years, and is an advocate for poetry and creative writing enrichment in public schools. As a poet-teacher with the California Poets in the Schools non-profit program, she’s enjoyed encouraging and guiding youth to explore writing their own poems and discovering their creative voices. She’d love for more people of all ages to realize the benefits of creating, sharing, or appreciating art. Maya Angelou said it well: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” When the old excuse of having writer’s block takes hold, Kristi reminds herself there’s never really a shortage of things to write about—she finds inspiration just about anywhere, including the unique and natural beauty of Lake County where she lives.
