Apple Jacks Wassail - Nancy Charley
One of the Top 24 submissions in our 2022 Urban Tree Festival writing competition.
Apple Jack’s Wassail
When dewdrops jewel grass blades with riotous rainbows,
When hedgehogs awaken, daffodils dance and blow,
When the apple bears blossom and bees fill the trees,
Then you’ll go a-roaming to find your heart’s ease.
You may wander through meadows,
You may amble by streams,
But you’ll find me in the orchard
As the stalk of your dreams.
When the sun coaxes fair arms to blush at its sight,
When roses pink hedgerows and fledglings take flight,
When the apple buds spurt, their girths growing round,
Then you’ll go a-roaming over hardened, ridged ground.
You may wander through meadows,
You may amble by streams,
But you’ll find me in the orchard,
Ripening flesh of your dreams.
When breezes tease old leaves and toss them afloat,
When apples are bobbed or don toffee coats,
When millstones grind and presses squash fruit,
Then you’ll go a-roaming to muddy your boots.
You may squander in meadows,
You may dawdle by streams,
But you’ll find me in the orchard
At the core of your dreams.
When the icy north wind wails a ghostly drumbeat,
Leave the applewood fire, its sweet-smelling heat,
Chase a robin through the blizzard to find the last fruit,
Raise your wassailing cider to toast apple tree roots.
You may tramp snow-filled meadows,
You may skate frozen streams,
But you’ll find me in the orchard,
The very pip of your dreams.
Nancy Charley
Nancy Charley is the Royal Asiatic Society’s archivist. Her latest poetry collection, How Death Came into the World, was published by Smokestack in 2020.
