The Apple Tree

When an apple tree is ready for the world 

to come and eat,

There isn't any structure in the land 

that's got it beat.

There's nothing man has builded 

with the beauty or the charm

That can touch the simple grandeur 

of the monarch of the farm.

There's never any picture 

from a human being's brush

That has ever caught the redness 

of a single apple's blush.

When an apple tree's in blossom 

it is glorious to see,

But that's just a hint, at springtime, 

of the better things to be;

That is just a fairy promise 

from the Great Magician's wand

Of the wonders and the splendors 

that are waiting just beyond

The distant edge of summer; 

just a forecast of the treat

When the apple tree is ready for the world

to come and eat.

Architects of splendid vision long have labored

on the earth,

And have raised their dreams in marble 

and we've marveled at their worth;

Long the spires of costly churches have looked

upward at the sky;

Rich in promise and in the beauty, 

they have cheered the passer-by.

But I'm sure there's nothing finer 

for the eye of man to meet

Than an apple tree that's ready for the world

to come and eat.

There's the promise of the apples, 

red and gleaming in the sun,

Like the medals worn by mortals 

as rewards for labors done;

And the big arms stretched wide open, 

with a welcome warm and true

In a way that sets you thinking 

it's intended just for you.

There is nothing with a beauty 

so entrancing, so complete,

As an apple tree that's ready 

for the world to come and eat.

~ Edgar A. Guest