Have you ever gone apple-picking? Have you smelled the crisp fall air and bit into a red apple right from the tree? Tugged on each apple carefully to see which one is ripe enough to let go of its branch? Whether you've never picked an apple or have a dozen apple trees in your yard, it's time to write some apple-picking poetry!
To get in the mood for picking apples, let's start with a poem by Robert Frost.
From "After Apple-Picking"
My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree
Toward heaven still,
And there's a barrel that I didn't fill
Beside it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now....
Go ahead and read the rest of Frost's poem.
Then, it's time to gather some supplies: a warm jacket, a notebook, and an apple to much on along the way. Find a sunny spot outdoors if you can.
Bite into your apple. What do the flavors remind you of? Do they taste like the smell of the kitchen on Thanksgiving day? Is the texture a little grainy, like sand on your favorite beach? Are the colors a mix of reds and purples streaked like crayons melted on the outside of the apple?
Focus on describing the tastes, smells, sounds of the apple you're eating.
Remember, poetry is all about the specific and concrete details. It's the smells and tastes you write about that make your readers see the world in a whole new way!
Now, if you've been eating apples all month and you're sick and tired of them, you can write your own apple-picking poem—without apples.
Think about another fruit or food that you'd love to be able to pick off the tree. What would it be like if you could pick pumpkin pies off of trees? What about sweet potatoes? Imagine a wild orchard experience and then start writing!
Once again, remember to fill your poem with details so that your readers can imagine that they are right there with you.
