The Orchard

I'm walking through an endless orchard

Tall apple trees loom around me

So many apples

Some red and ripe

Some shriveled and rotten

Each tree newer and fresher than the last

Each step more tempting

I reach for them

Most are out of reach

And just when I think I've found the perfect one

It's luscious skin fades

To reveal a rotten core

There have been many truly good ones

Hidden by the others

That I have missed

But only one is right for me

Hundreds of trees

Millions of apples

A lifetime to search

For the perfect apple...

I have to start somewhere

This one...

This one...

This one...