apple picking the first week of october
is tradition, that hard cider scent
warmed by sun just enough
to lure bees to buzz drunk above orchard grass. we pick
buckets full of mcintosh, still hard on the tree, but blushing
to baking softness in a week, sweet but with a tart
that draws mouths into smiles involuntarily.
the first year i pulled my son behind me
in a wagon with the apples, he held each one like a gift.
later, peeling them, each he held had two tiny tooth marks
like vampire kisses just breaking the skin.
he teethed on apples, evidence I removed
with a paring knife and a smile.
fall apples: heady and smelling already of pies
and cinnamon, sauce and the potpourri drift of spiced rings
in the dehydrator, the last fruit we harvest before november
sinks its teeth in, and those teeth bite deeper
than apple skin.
***at Dverse today, we are writing about fall foods. You know I had to choose apples.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
Ooooh, apples! I can smell that cinnamon apple tart from here – with custard I hope! I love the image of your son teething on apples too.
thanks, Holly. It was such a sweet, funny thing for him to do–yes–have to have it with a nice vanilla custard.
Custard… I think it was reading this about apples that put the thought of custard in my head for my poem yesterday! So thank you. 🙂
🙂 glad to have helped that along–loved yours about the “past best” cake…
This was filled with sugary sweetness 🙂
Thanks!
he teethed on apples…how cute is that? smiles….we used to have an orchard near us and took the boys picking their first couple years…we will go pumpkin picking soon…i love cider though….cool piece…
Brian, thanks much! Yes, he so very much did teeth on apples. I laughed every time I peeled an apple for two weeks after that.
when you write about the goodness of the earth.. there is such a “comfort” that emits from your life Susan. I like to “watch” and join along as I read
Oh, thank you, A. I love moments like these.
We did apple picking last year…it was too much apples though for weeks on end ~
I do like the idea of your son teething on the apples ~ This smells delicious and warm ~
Hi Grace–yes, it is a lot of apples, but these two I have can devour 4-6 apples a day apiece, so they never last that long…glad you liked!
That is so cute, to have teeth marks in the apples..lol
I love apple pie with cinnamon and cream …gosh.. made my mouth water at the thought of it. This is such a lovely read Susan…I could see you pulling your boy along in a wagon as you collect apples 🙂
We had three apple trees in the yard where we used to live, two were green/yellow apples and the other was a red apple tree. Wish I had been a cook, we’d have had a lot of apple dishes …lol
Oh, yes. I miss my apple tree. Yes, still grin every time I think of it and he is thrilled to be in one of my poems..
lol! @ your angel’s vampire kiss … lovely piece! 🙂
🙂 thank you! Yes, those two first little teeth were sharp and deadly (at least to apples)…
Love this poem – a wonderful tradition to share – my sister in law brought me a sack full of apples from her tree last week. Heres to October apple picking and many pies, cakes, sauces and muffins! K
Yay! So glad you liked this…
My poor taste buds! I have this sweet-sour taste in my mouth. Your use of descriptive imagery is EXCELLENT! I loved the reference to teeth and biting; made me think of that moment when you puncture the skin of an apple and take away its’ breath. A really warm piece. You’re such a pro! 🙂
Oh, Soraya, thank you! Did I leave your mouth puckering?
You bloody did! I hope that’s what you wanted?
Yes! That was what I was aiming for, that sweet-tartness…
I definitely got that! I love that word, ‘tart’, you know when some words just sound like what they mean. Like ‘bitter’. Or am I just a bit crazy!?
Nah, Soraya–you are a poet. Words have always had a taste or a smell for me–not sure exactly which.
One of those memories that all year supermarket food can take away unless you only buy what’s in local season. As a child before supermarkets we grew our own apples and picked in Autumn. What wasn’t used for jam or apple pies were wrapped in newspaper and stored in the dark. Wrinkled but with crunch still they could last to spring!
Oh, yes, they can–we had a huge apple tree–McIntosh, of course, so that is really the only one I will eat, besides Honeycrisp. Yummy…
What a lovely idea, to write about apple picking. I love visiting apple orchards in fall. Nothing like the crunch of a VERY crisp apple. You mentioned Macs. I like them too. Love that first tangy bite!
Thank you, Mary! Yes, I adore Macs….
nice…we usually go apple picking in the orchard as well…it’s almost like a short holiday when the weather is nice…cute with your son and happy baking..hmmm
Thanks, Claudia…Actually, tonight it is going to be zucchini squares I have everyone convinced are really apple…Deceptive mom that I am…
It is all there: the texture of the season; the sounds; the moisture and dryness of the air; the very present, determined bees. I like how the poems sounds like a conversation or chorus of the characters and elements you are writing about. It’s almost as though the speaker is talking in medias res.
Thanks, Jeremy–yes–the poem came to me as if I was right in the middle of it all, even though it was last week I picked the apples. Thanks much for liking this & the comment.
Beautifully written. Love the imagery, now I want some apples.
Oh, thank you!
The bite marks of your son is reminiscent of the same that I remember. It’s so much fun to munch at leisure.Nicely Susan!
Hank
Hank, thank you!
What a sweet poem. I especially liked “he held each one like a gift.
later, peeling them, each he held had two tiny tooth marks
like vampire kisses just breaking the skin.”… lovely image.
Thanks, Serena. They did, too, it was so funny…
Such a distinctive season, so visual, so aromatic, so well captured in your words.
Thanks, Nelle.
I just came from another one about apples… they are my favorites.
Awesome–mine too!
Oh this made me remember my childhood years in Canada!
Oh, thanks, Jules.
You paint such a delicious picture! And I include the baby in the deliciousness.
Thank you–he was definitely the sweetest thing there, with his tiny vampire teeth..
“lure bees” i keep saying it over and over. it’s true. i, too, am lured by this. the cinnamon and apple combination. deliciously teeth-baring!
Oooh, Jane–I LOVE your comment! hank you.
Can already smell christmas flavors here, Susan. Loved this poem.
Thanks so much, Mohana.
like vampire kisses just breaking the skin.
he teethed on apples, evidence I removed
with a paring knife and a smile.
Just a sample of the the fine word-crafting here.
THank you, David.
Biting deeper ! Well penned. Nice images. thanx
Thank you, Sabio!
What a great memory of your son! I could just see him sitting in that wagon, sampling every fruit. I always pick fall apples from friends’ trees for large batches of applesauce that I substitute for oil in everything I bake the rest of the year, so I know all about those drunken bees. Great write.
Thanks, Julie. I can still see those 2 tiny teethmarks. How funny that a 13-month-old with those timy teeth would try to take on a wagon-full of apples 😉
Wonderful imagery and great play on words. ‘November sinking its teeth in’
Thanks–this is one of my favorite poems from this fall.