Keeping the Doctor Away

by Caleb Cheadle

Keeping the Doctor Away
I bought a bag of apples today and they asked to see my ID
Said I’d been buying too many apples
But my wife needs apples
My dad needs apple
The whole family is on them

They say the trees aren’t producing what they used to
Can’t meet the apple demand
So they rotate the same stock across the nation
Load the apples on trucks – cartage to and fro
Fossil fuels to fuel the apple transport
Anything to avoid an outage

Is it any wonder that apples are in demand
A society pushed to the brink
Productivity is salacious
Whispered about in back rooms by the rich
Tucked in the palm in the alleyway
Party apples a thing of the past, even for the collegefolk

Galas, honeycrisps
The delicious siblings and cosmic
They make them in all colors
So you can pick your poison variety
            can be up on the latest trend, nurse the zeitgeist
Mealy or firm the result is the same
Efficacy the same
Onset, duration the same
But not the cost

I declined to show my ID and they asked what they should take a picture of
I showed them the bird with the early worm
And they said
            Keep that the hell away from our apples

‡‡

CALEB CHEADLE is a writer invested in discovering the truths hidden in the gaps between words, from an etymological, syntactic, and definitive viewpoint. He holds a BA in Literature from The Ohio State University and an MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics from Naropa University. His passion for life and authenticity is clear in every aspect of his life.