ALL day in the green, sunny orchard, When May was a marvel of bloom, I followed the busy bee-lovers Down paths that were sweet with perfume. The one perfect cluster I sought for Was not in the orchard for me; It swung on the edge of a forest, From the bough of a wild apple-tree— A tree that no thrift of the farmer Had cared in its life to protect, All twisted and stunted and barren, The orphan of nature's neglect. That, lone in the lavish Spring beauty, Bore only one blossoming spray,— But that, in its delicate tinting, The blossom I'd looked for all day! The soul of the tree in its prison Had thrilled to the passion of Spring, And given itself in its answer— The beggar-maid's "Yes" to the king. So told me the gray-bearded painter, And showed me the branch that he broke, All glowing and sweet on the canvas The while that he dreamily spoke. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE GOOD SHEPHERD by FELIX LOPE DE VEGA CARPIO POVERTY PARTS GUDE COMPANIE by JOANNA BAILLIE THE SONG THAT SHALL ATONE by KATHARINE LEE BATES HEAUTONTIMOROUMENOS by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE FIFTY YEARS SPENT by MAXWELL STRUTHERS BURT |