Stained

Pyramus and Thisbe, by Andreas Nesselthaler, 1795
Public domain from Wikimedia.

by Brett Rutherford

Mulberries turned red,
because two grieving lovers,
each thinking the other dead,
committed suicide.
Had not one clumsy lion
come along, had Thisbe
not wailed at finding Pyramus
self-slain, and followed suit, the fruit
would droop as pale as moonlight
and we would gather the white berries up,
in delicate garlands, leaf and all,
to drape the edge of a lover's cup.