Fruit Cocktail Tree

According to my Michigan Bulb Company catalog,
this tree will produce tasty peaches, juicy nectarines,
tangy apricots, and plump purple plums. I'm all ready
to order this amazing plant—guaranteed to grow

it says—but I have to wonder why the only picture
available is an artist’s rendering—no clear crisp
photo like the ones for Pink Cosmos
or Mosquito Plant. The Cinnamon Fern looks

so robust so fiery it could burst into flame
right there on the page. Tiptoeing across
a lawn’s border, Peacock Orchids are a bit shy
but the brilliant blue (6/ve!) just kills me.

What you'll really get if you order the Fruit Cocktail Tree
is anybody’s guess. In the drawing, there is a lady
in jaunty slacks and wispy blouse reaching high
above her head to pluck a purple fruit, of which I count

at least forty others. The rest of the colorful spheres
look suspiciously alike, all the same rusty shade
of orange as if stenciled by some sweaty guy
in the back of a studio with a box labeled “CIRCLES.”

I wonder if the woman in the drawing is his girlfriend
or just someone in his art class he secretly
adores. The wicker basket she holds is so full
she couldn’t possibly eat them all. Perhaps he hopes

she will ask him to share this fruit with a plate
of cubed cheese, checked cloth, ice water. They won't
even notice the ants coming closer, closer—waving
their antennae as if conducting a symphony.