Old man, the bite has taken away so much.
Your deformity makes me laugh.
Out on the ledge I left you –
I left you without a hole to hide in, red face shriveling
under the sun’s glare, browning slowly in despair.
It’s not easy to explain the things in your world.
If you couldn’t be swallowed whole like a fawning cherry,
then you shall suffer to be sliced into appropriate sizes.
I’m no god of yours. But I could be a mouth,
a stem, a colossus, or the orchard from which you come forth.
Old man, the blood you bleed is sweet.
Your anemic face stares up at nothing.
Of my own body you remind me –
You remind me of my own worm-eaten flesh, tossed
into the cruel October air, browning slowly in despair.
It’s not easy to explain the things in my world.
When your core grows bitter you will understand me,
until then we are two apples hanging onto the same tree.
Who is this god of ours. Is he a mouth,
a stem, a colossus, or the orchard from which we come forth.
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Writer’s Note: My husband, who reads my blog regularly, was so amused with my previous poem Onion that he commissioned me to write a poem about an apple. In fact, he commissioned me to write a poem about every single fruit in our fridge – rolling my eyes. In any case I thought I’d start with the apple. So here it is, enjoy it, honey!
Fruits and veggies are great things to write about! Right now they sure are expensive to eat. 😦 So will enjoy just reading your poems about them. 🙂
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Thanks! Maybe I could write one about how delicious they taste so you can live vicariously through the poem. =)
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Yes, that would be very nice. 🙂 Some of my favorites are avocados, peaches and seedless grapes. And chocolate covered strawberries.
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I absolutely love these types of prompts. It’s amazing the direction they can take us 🙂
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Indeed it is a fun experience!
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I love this.. very creative prompt!
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I love the prev one “Onion” the title got me. But with this one I love how you were able to compare ageing with an Apple..nice.
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I found this poem very thought provoking…the imagery set my mind racing…mortality, God , our place in the universe, all the questions for which I have no answers…
Oh and….don’t forget a poem about…honey! Thanks for visiting my blog…
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Wonderful image – and apples are my favorite fruit. 🙂
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Apple hmm.. the forbidden fruit
Adam’s first taste of wife’s heedings 😀
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I actually read this in the poetry tag when you posted it; must’ve forgotten to like it. But thanks for liking my poem! I love this one — interesting how fruit can remind you of your own mortality. But that’s just what I took from it. Have a great day! Look forward to reading your future work!
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Scrumptious! Thanks
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Omg this is so beautiful. Yeahh I stopped by to read the Onion too, it was splendidly written.
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Thanks for visiting my blog! I love this creative poem of yours. I’ve written about animals and inanimate objects, but never fruits. Hmm… I might try that someday haha.
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Lol its great he’s supportive and see all you have been capable of doing with fruits! Lol.
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I love this! Great pictures, surrounded by humor and ending with thoughtfulness.
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What interests me most about this poem is the attempt at empathy with the old man. One of the things poetry does best is close the perceived gap between us, not always an easy thing to do especially when living in urban environments.
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Thank you for the comment! I’m always drawn to nature, as well as the comparison/conversation between nature and human lives. It is one of the themes I return to repetitively. I don’t really know what my poetry can do, but it seems that the possibility is boundless once I start a first verse.
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I have so much to learn from your style of poetry writing
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You are very sweet but I most certainly don’t deserve this kind of praise! My poems lack so much in forms and structure. I am still learning to improve. If I can only inspire and touch the hearts of some with my poems, I would be happy enough.
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Love the poem about the apple. Thanks for visiting and liking my blog. Happy Thanksgiving.
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Your husband is a good man to ‘commission’ poems. He is doing us a service! 🙂
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I hope your commission is monetary. That is one way to make money writing poetry, or anything else. Not that we do it for money, that ‘s laughable. Love your way with words.
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It’s funny because I have been thinking about the same thing lately, but I doubt anyone would pay for an amateur poet to write a poem for them. Maybe I will accept free commissions in the future, it will be fun plus I wont have to feel obligated to create.
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Maybe you could barter–three poems for a custom baked birthday cake! If writers can’t make money we can at least eat cake.
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HAHA, that is an awesome idea. Maybe I can slip in a dinner here or there as well. A poet gotta eat somehow!
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Sandy, I need to set some time aside to browse through your archives. Your poetry is very enjoyable to read!
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aww, how sweet of you. I hope you enjoy reading!
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O how wonderful you express it. I hope to be that other apple in that tree in the orchard of our Father in the heavens and in my heart. 🙂
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Love this. You’ve inspired me to think about poems about fruits or vegetables.
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I’m glad!!
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What a neat ariclte. I had no inkling.
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Your creativityis wonderful. It proves anything can be a prompt, Good work. It was a pleasure to read.
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Thank you!
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Great a poem! Kudos. I’ll have to check out the onion. I like your husband. : )
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Haha, thank you! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Onion.
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I loved this piece, it brought tears to my eyes, what are we indeed but apples, slowly browning in the sun of life? “When your core grows bitter you will understand me…” Gutted by that line, so much truth in it. Thank you for stopping by my blog, I’ll stick around and read ‘Onion’.
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Thank you for this lovely comment. It was one of my favorite poems to write. Glad it has touched some hearts like yours.
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