The Ginkgoes

Suddenly one day each spring
the foliage of the male ginkgoes
fills our yard
with a smell so fertile,
as if the grass and soil
were flooded overnight
with anxious
ripe seed.

In the autumn
the fruit of the female
falls just as suddenly.
Unavoidably crushed beneath our feet
it fills the air with the scent
of old women,
alone and dying.