Friday, September 11, 2026

Like Apples, We Survive

 

Like Apples, We Survive

Gray lizards with skeptical brow 
scuttle over stone chimneys from an age 
when men cleared land with ax and ox,
cleared a northern jungle for pasture, 
for orchard.

Boulders remain. Farms lost 
to deep snow, subzero nights, 
to grim gaze of starlight,
pastures reclaimed by conifer
while humans flee to town.

Left behind, hardy apple trees 
survive— surprise!— 
a delight to the hiker, 
a tongue-load of fructose 
amid this deep forest 
where to make a living
you must go on living.

…..

First published in Adirondack Anthology. Thank you Steve Kenworthy, editor

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