Orchard In Decay

Once there was an orchard in the hills
A grove of apple trees in disrepair, over run with briers,
And it bore no fruit.

It remembered how,
But years of neglect had taken their toll
Years of neglect had left it without the energy.

Stubs and broken branches,
Insect damage and sunburn
And competition of weeds sapped its strength.



A gardener came along and found the orchard
Through the neglect, the gardener could see the potential
The past and the future.

The gardener worked with the trees,
And with care pruned the stubs, and nursed the wounds
And the trees responded.

And briers were trimmed back
And the roots could spread and gather nourishment
And the branches spread.

The Shade of the tree grew and started to defeat the weeds
Vigor returned to the trees, beyond even their earlier prime
And the Orchard was proud.

There was pain in the pruning
And in growth that the trees had not known for years,
But the trees accepted the challenge.

And with the vigor, the trees experienced a glorious spring
A blossoming that had not been seen in years
With bees and birds, and a sweet smell in the air

Outsiders mocked the gardener, Those trees are spent,
You have other chores, don't waste your time
But the gardener carried on.

The orchard rewarded the gardener, setting fruit for the first time in ages
And the fruit ripened, and grew sweet,
And it was good.

When harvest came, the trees tried to give their fruit to the gardener
But vile ravens moved in, and stole the fruit and claimed it as theirs
And it was gone.



And the gardener was called away by other claims
And the orchard withered in the coming winter winds
Stripped of the harvest.

And worms moved in
And consumed the roots
Breaking the foundation of the orchard.

The ravens ripped at the bark of the trees,
Laying the core bare to the ravages on the coming storm.

The winter bore down,
The expected storms came
And the orchard had no one to care.

Their strength that had been was drawn out
To weather the winter they failed
There was no will, no reason to fight for Spring

The life renewed
The new start to life was gone
Snuffed out before its first chance had come.

The gardener was gone
The orchard had not to share
No host with which to ease a care.

Nothing but bleak on the horizon
To fight fear alone and deserted
With only the thoughts of promise lost and the intruders that attack.

Pruning for renewal is a needed thing
Done with care it brings new life
But without the care it leaves open wounds and no will to fight.

G - January 2008