What weighty snow last winter did not do
My apple tree itself has mostly done,
Bent and broke its crown near half in two,
Heavy fruit brought limbs down, overcome.
Such bounty as I'd never seen before
Gave heaviness the tree could not sustain
To which was added wind and strong downpour
That overreached its limit, given rain,
Till when I went and saw the tree today,
How shocking was its breakage all around.
Apples lay in fallen disarray,
Scattered, many rotting on the ground,
Reminding me be cautious and take care
To carry only that which I can bear.

© 2021 Jeff Glover

Judge’s Comments:

“The Broken Apple Tree" is a lovely Shakespearian sonnet. Formally, it is nearly perfect; it ·keeps its numbers and does an excellent job with the rhymes. I admire the way the title and the opening lines establish the situation and then expand it until it slips naturally into the closing lines. Though the dominant metaphor in this poem is "all apple," the speaker's realization is essentially human and apropos for these time: ''take care / and carry only that which [you] can bear.