PEAR TREE IN BLOOM

Why do the Japanese love cherry blossoms more
than apple or pear or peach?
Is it the soft near-pink skin of the cherry tree?

The pear tree is not for everybody, I guess.
It’s bark is like an alligator's hide,
and the flowers smell of earth.

But, ah! The blossoms bursting out of pink nubs,
gnarly unpredictable reach of dark limbs
against any kind of sky...music for the eye.