Big Macintosh Waxes Poetic
Sweet and heavy hang the blossoms this delicate Spring night
The apple orchard before me- my pride and my delight
See! how light on my hooves the wind makes me
Ah! how full of peace is my heart
Softly I move, softly with thought of tired mares and sleepy foals
Softly lest they wake
They dream and all is well
They dream of work and play and hearty food with smiling faces
And I am content, for their happiness is mine
See now, how I stomp my hoof and bathe in a shower of petals?
All the earth responds to me
Naught shall harm this charmed place
All who enter must pass me on my lofty hilltop
And my body is equal to the thickest root, the oldest bough
I am my family’s protector and guard
Only good dreams shall I allow tonight
Sentinel on a hill of apple trees blooming under the moon
And they shall bloom every spring, forever
Though I speak little
My heart brims over with this sensation
My family! how I love them
Each scraped knee and tear of my sister, big or small, is a blow to me
And my Granny, Granny our wisdom and soul
The earth nourishing saplings
How can I ever say what family is?
Family, the golden memories of carefree summers
Family, the bountiful harvest won by toil
Family, the struggle and triumph of harsh winters
Family, this very spring night, so peaceful and fragrant
And should my wakeful sister find me, nose lifted and eyes shining
And ask if I am chilled by the playful night air
I shall inhale the heady scent of new earth and apple blossoms
And look at her with wonderment that I should be so lucky
All tawdry words shall fail me then, and so!
My eyes alone express my soul, my pride and love and hope
And with my mouth, with clarity, I simply answer, “Nope.”