Apples For Stones
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TITLE (EDIT)
Apples For Stones |
DESCRIPTION
I wrote this for a picture book.
[665 words] |
AUTHOR
Peter Rego |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
-
[March 2015] |
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (6)
Happy Loving You (Songs) Love songs from the heart [131 words] [Romance]
I See The Hand Of God (In Ordinary Things) (Songs) Inspirational [112 words] [Spiritual]
If I Am A Hard Worker (Children) Written for a Holocaust theme picture book for middle school aged children [171 words]
Its Closing Time (And I've Still Got No Where To Go) (Songs) Traditional country western song [139 words]
The Name Game (Short Stories) A short story about coping with life and death. [3,756 words]
You're A Dream I Had (Songs) Songs of Love [274 words] [Romance]
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Apples For Stones
Peter Rego
There was a tree of apples
a lovely apple tree
its shade was like a chapel
a cool safe place to be
Its bosom branches bursting
too much for just one tree!
each apple like a ruby
a harvest aplenty
Close by lived many families
they worked and laughed and played
and they all shared the apples
the good tree gladly gave
They fenced their yards with flowers
and open trellis gates
that lined wide fieldstone pathways
to welcome all who came
There was a field of thistles
not very far away
from the lovely apple tree
that God so gladly gave
Within this field of thistles
a hut stands built of weeds
inside there lived a hermit
alone with just his greed
This hermits name was Hamlin
he really didn’t care
for the company of others
or the things they had to share
No welcome ring of pathways
to circle his bleak home
instead a rocky border
a cold bare wall of stone
Each new night Hamlin gathered
a great amount of stone
and he increased his borders
and called more land his own
The families knew his temper
and feared his nasty ways
a he increased his borders
they chose to stay away
Then one bright fall morning
beneath a deep blue sky
the families stood in silence
and rubbed unbelieving eyes
Gone were the welcome pathways
leading to the tree
instead a stone wall fortress
and a sign, Hamlin property
The families wailed and wondered
not quite sure what to do
when Hamlin shouted from his hut
I’ve got a deal for you
He slowly made his way down
to the lovely apple tree
he stood upon his new stone wall
and cried, Attention please
For years gone by you’ve all agreed
whats mine is ringed in stone
you’ve left me to my labors
you’ve left me on my own
But I am not the kind of man
who won’t share what is mine
I’ll gladly trade my apples
for a little of your time
What would you say is a fair trade
for an apple from this tree
I’d say nearly thirty stones
perhaps almost fifty
For every fifty stones
that are gathered here for me
I’ll gladly give one apple
from the Hamlin apple tree
The families asked each other
how can it now be
that we should have to work for
what was once ours for free
Its true we all need apples
and what today has shown
is if we really want them
we’ll have to gather stones
As all the families labored
for an apple from the tree
more and more of what they had
became Hamlin property
Rows of walls stood silent guard
as far as one could see
in the center of it all
stood a lonely apple tree
Stone was now less common
then it used to be
people horded all they could
to buy an apple from the tree
One day a man named Jeffson
was gathering some stone
when he noticed a frail seedling
where an apple core was thrown
He gathered up this seedling
and brought it with him home
he placed in the warm rich ground
then left to gather stone
He wondered about the seedling
and the apples it may bring
someday in the future
someday in his dreams
For years the families gathered stone
and fed the Hamlin greed
more and more each new day
they lost the things they need
But no one seemed to notice
the now grown Jeffson tree
then one spring morn white flowers
burst forth from the seedling
Soon the apple blossoms
were all but blown away
the seedling was forgotten
until one summer day
Small green baby apples
grew in each blossoms place
day by day they filled the tree
and ripened one fall day
Soon the word went far and wide
there is a new apple tree
its in the yard of Jeffson
he grew it from a seed
How many stones will it take
for an apple from your tree
Jeffson called the families all around
and he said, listen to me
I’ll give these apples freely
to anyone in need
for every apple that you take
just plant another seed
I don’t want you to bring me stone
the opposite is true
with every apple that you take
take a stone away with you
Place the stones at Hamlins door
let him know that you
remember every apple
that he has stole from you
Soon there will be a mountain
outside of Hamlins door
then he’ll know that we don’t need
his apples anymore
Apple trees now fill the land
all have all they need
no one has to gather stone
unless stone is what they need
Here and there a stone wall stands
a reminder of the days
when stones could buy an apple
and apples were the craze
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2008 Peter Rego |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
December 2008 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
1795
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