Note: This poem was penned in late fall, when clear, sunny days are the norm for Western North Carolina. We hope this is a small “spoonful of sugar” for a gray February day. 

By Sarah Barrick

The apple tree gives life with its fruit, with its nests, with its beauty.

It never ceases even when life is at near end

to give of itself to the creatures of the earth.

Creatures, that by design, are destined to love one another

to ensure the ongoing life of their species.

Birds full of dance and color compete for affection; squirrels jump about senselessly.

The sun casts a shadow of the nearly naked apple tree.

Its shadow comes alive upon the newly trimmed grass

offering a gift that provides pure pleasure and gratitude.

To live is to love and find in everyday the simple beauty

composed of the most complex of systems — nature.

My heartfelt thanks to the apple tree that graces the backyard.

© Sarah Barrick, 2021. The Appalachian Chronicle is a publication of Grassroots Appalachia LLC.