Celebrating Late Summer's Bounty

On a beautiful, temperate September day, we excitedly accepted an invitation to go apple-picking. Remembering that it was one of our family's favorite end-of-summer/early fall activities, we jumped in the car and headed to the Virginia countryside to meet up with my daughter, son-in-law, and toddler grandgirls. 

Majestic trees with a hint of color, stood erect lining the highway like guardsmen of nature. In the distance, a broad mountain appeared. We were amazed by how beautiful the countryside looked. Spotting a sign for a winery, we exited off the highway and followed the path to the winery. A very curvy road lay ahead of us so we slowly and safely transversed it. The excitement mounted when we entered the apple orchard. The day was a joyous one; the little ones excitedly picked all sizes of apples with the hopes of creating all sorts of desserts with the half bushel each family picked. As Rachel Ray said, "Everybody's twelve years old in an apple orchard."

Celebrating Late Summer's Bounty

We won't forget the glorious day or the apple orchard
We wandered through in early September,

Moving cautiously from one section to another.

We won't forget the brilliant sunshine streaking

Across the apple trees and bees and butterflies fluttering by

stopping only for a taste of sweetness.

Our thoughts traveled to countless orchards and

Memories of New York orchards but the children's 

Wide eyes filled with wonder were the best surprise.

What more could we ask for from that day,

After picking a half-bushel of harvest-ripe fruit?

Perhaps, nature continues to nurture our late summer souls

Or silently and mindfully growing to bear fruit?

©CVarsalona, 2021

*I used The Apple Orchard by Dana Gioia and Rainier Marie Rilke's poem The Apple Orchard as mentor texts.

I am glad that I found a way to insert part of the title of my upcoming gallery, Nurturing Our Summer Souls, into the poem. 

🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎🍏

I am ready to join my far-away friend, Denise Krebs in Bahrain, at her blog, Dare To Care, for the Poetry Friday Roundup. Denise shares an In One Word poem with us that is very clever.