When Apple first fell
from the Tree, she bobbed
along on her sea
of forgetfulness,
oblivious to
the bruises on her
backside, pockets of
pus hidden by a
polished red skin. She
named her world Stunning,
and made plans to suit.
.
Tucked in the shadow
of those gnarled roots, her
gnarled senses labelled
sickly vapours ‘air’,
decomposition
‘bed’, insect-breeding
swamp ‘home’. Belonging
lulled feelings into
a caricature
of the love she read
about in novels.
.
But the day she rolled
outside canopy
limits, beyond the
reach of Eden’s bite,
sun-seared retinas
peeled the picture bare –
twisted trunk and sour
fruit and warped world-view
became as glaring
as raw contusions.
.
Now she rolls, rolls, rolls,
far from the madding
shroud, far from the reach
of branches carved like
talons from deformed,
wormy wood. Far from
the Tree, in a patch
of pure light on grass
greener than life, she
sows a single seed.
Meanwhile, Melody Muses... 
Love this .. touched my heart 🙂
Thanks so much – it is an honour to be a part of your journey, a part of your day.
“bruises in her back pocket…” that’s so tom-boyish and a memory of my sister ~ wonderful ! Wonderful !
Wonderful! I love how each of our experiences lends layers of meaning to words.
Beautiful, particularly the picture!
Thanks so much! 🙂
Beautiful…Pure Light does amazing things with the seeds we sow…How gracious is God!
And how wonderful to come out from the destructive habits and thought patterns we have held onto for so long…
Only one seed??? I know…it’s a poem!!!! 🙂
HA! You caught me. I’m guessing that there were actually about 20 – but 20 doesn’t sound as punchy as one, does it? 😉
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
IT DIDN’T FALL VERY FAR—JUST FAR ENOUGH!!!!
“Madding shroud”–excellent.
I wasn’t sure if it was too ‘cutesy’ or not. Thanks, CJ.
Not at all–in fact, when I read “madding” I was expecting “crowd”, so I was extra thrilled with “shroud”. Great job, as usual–ho hum….
The WP spelly-thingy really didn’t like ‘madding’… a pox on it! 🙂
Yeah, I don’t think it’s tuned in to poets’ frequency a’tall…
Yay for the apple! It is a survivor and a thriver. Despite the bruises, it has resilience.
That response makes me so happy – that is what I wanted – the transformation of the character breaking away from the past. Yay for you!!!
Well, I am very fond of real apples and I find their history quite wonderful. http://video.pbs.org/video/1283863020/ I have read the book, which I found fascinating.
You are just a walking encyclopedia, aren’t you? Hmmm – that dates me. Okay, you are just a walking Google machine, aren’t you? 😉
🙂 I wish I were as good as Google! I’ve been looking half the day for a poetry quote and I can’t find it ..grrrr. Do you grow beautiful apples? So many of the lovely orchards we used to see around our city are now under housing developments.
My apple trees succumbed to fireblight – I only have crab apples left.. ;(
The dreaded fireblight; how horrible. Crab apples are worthy though. I love them.
Pucker up!
Reblogged this on PMJ's Favorite Reblogs and commented:
Hi Melody, another beautiful photograph and a poem filled with incredible metaphors and a positive ending. I Started a blog that essentially contains reblogs, my own included but mainly from the sites I follow. Bravo you spiritual warrior, poet artist!