a lime tree

in early summer the lime gives off a sweetness so present it becomes the avenue. honey, distant honey, the hive at the back of the orchard coming through the air like an idea. you do not so much smell the tree as walk through what it is doing.

heart-shaped leaves, soft as the inside of an envelope. flowers pale yellow, modest. tea made from them is taken at the tearoom on damp afternoons; it has the smell of the avenue, condensed. small comfort, properly administered.

the avenue itself is something to walk slowly, especially at dusk. each tree the size and habit of every other. between them, the light goes long and the silence has the same temperature as the tea.