Far From the Tree

  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…

appleblossomkeyhole.jpg

 

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.

 

 

Responses to “Far From the Tree”

  1. proverbsway

    Love this .. touched my heart 🙂

    1. melodylowes

      Thanks so much – it is an honour to be a part of your journey, a part of your day.

  2. I HAVE A VOICE

    “bruises in her back pocket…” that’s so tom-boyish and a memory of my sister ~ wonderful ! Wonderful !

    1. melodylowes

      Wonderful! I love how each of our experiences lends layers of meaning to words.

  3. cythereandreams

    Beautiful, particularly the picture!

    1. melodylowes

      Thanks so much! 🙂

  4. Glenda Mills

    Beautiful…Pure Light does amazing things with the seeds we sow…How gracious is God!

    1. melodylowes

      And how wonderful to come out from the destructive habits and thought patterns we have held onto for so long…

  5. Jonathan Caswell

    Only one seed??? I know…it’s a poem!!!! 🙂

    1. melodylowes

      HA! You caught me. I’m guessing that there were actually about 20 – but 20 doesn’t sound as punchy as one, does it? 😉

  6. Jonathan Caswell

    Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
    IT DIDN’T FALL VERY FAR—JUST FAR ENOUGH!!!!

  7. bennetta faire

    “Madding shroud”–excellent.

    1. melodylowes

      I wasn’t sure if it was too ‘cutesy’ or not. Thanks, CJ.

      1. bennetta faire

        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….

      2. melodylowes

        The WP spelly-thingy really didn’t like ‘madding’… a pox on it! 🙂

      3. bennetta faire

        Yeah, I don’t think it’s tuned in to poets’ frequency a’tall…

  8. Gallivanta

    Yay for the apple! It is a survivor and a thriver. Despite the bruises, it has resilience.

    1. melodylowes

      That response makes me so happy – that is what I wanted – the transformation of the character breaking away from the past. Yay for you!!!

      1. Gallivanta

        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.

      2. melodylowes

        You are just a walking encyclopedia, aren’t you? Hmmm – that dates me. Okay, you are just a walking Google machine, aren’t you? 😉

      3. Gallivanta

        🙂 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.

      4. melodylowes

        My apple trees succumbed to fireblight – I only have crab apples left.. ;(

      5. Gallivanta

        The dreaded fireblight; how horrible. Crab apples are worthy though. I love them.

      6. melodylowes

        Pucker up!

  9. phillymanjim

    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!

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