October brings the "dansa", an old poetic form once popular with the Occitan-speaking troubadours who wandered France and Spain. There's not much to be found on the internets about them other than the basic rules, and that they were often accompanied by joyful dancing. At Tricia's suggestion, I focused on the "joyful" part. 
Apple Dansa
some for eating, some for pie:
Macoun, Gravenstein, Winesap, oh, my…
tenderly, I take them, it’s the least I owe
these trees planted, row on row;
are an orderly riot, a pugnacious reply
to bruising dark, and all that must die;
I bag them one by one, a rapacious crow.
Oh, these trees planted, row on row!
The rules are these:
-Opening quintain (or 5-line stanza) followed by quatrains (or 4-line stanzas)
-The opening line of the first stanza is the final line of every stanza, including the first
-Rhyme scheme in the opening stanza: AbbaA (capital A represents the refrain)
-Rhyme scheme in all other stanzas: bbaA
-No other rules for subject, length, or meter.
-The opening line of the first stanza is the final line of every stanza, including the first
-Rhyme scheme in the opening stanza: AbbaA (capital A represents the refrain)
-Rhyme scheme in all other stanzas: bbaA
-No other rules for subject, length, or meter.
And here are the dance steps I composed:
These trees planted, row on row
burst with Stayman, Fuji, Northern Spy—
apples, apples of my loving eye—
beauties, born from best in show:
these trees planted, row on row,
burst with Stayman, Fuji, Northern Spy—
apples, apples of my loving eye—
beauties, born from best in show:
these trees planted, row on row,
some for eating, some for pie:
Macoun, Gravenstein, Winesap, oh, my…
tenderly, I take them, it’s the least I owe
these trees planted, row on row;
spilling fruit, their rosy faces cry
they—Blondees, Ginger, York—are why
the world rejoices— above, below—
these trees planted, row on row
are an orderly riot, a pugnacious reply
to bruising dark, and all that must die;
I bag them one by one, a rapacious crow.
Oh, these trees planted, row on row!
---Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
Creative license was taken in this portrayal of apple orchards---not all varieties of apples ripen at the same time, as I learned on our apple picking trip. For more accuracy, a fun list of apple varieties and when they are ripe is here.
Also: I tried a Blondee for the first time, and it's a new favorite. What's yours?
My poetry sisters' poems are here:
Kelly
Andi
NOTE: You're invited to our challenge in the month of November! Here's the scoop: we're creating recipe poems! Your choice of form, length, meter, or topic, but each poem will be an assemblage of elements, using recipe text/cooking instructions to create …something. From a recipe for disaster, to your favorite aperitif, you have a month to craft your creation and serve it forth on November 25th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals.
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Poetry Friday is hosted today by the wonderful Jone Rush MacCulloch.
My favorite apple is Arkansas Blacks. They are picked in late October and have been known to last in the back of the refrigerator all the way to spring! They are hard and tart with a skin that is truly a deep blackish red. Yum. Yesterday I made the first apple crisp of the season with some from our first bag. Your poem speaks to my apple-loving heart! SO full of joy, and that last stanza...YES!
ReplyDeleteWow, Mary Lee, you make that apple sounds delicious...maybe there's a poem solely about the Arkansas Black apple in your future??
DeleteMy family loves the Fuji apple but will eat any variety. I have been playing with apple cookies recipes to see what type we all like. Sara, your poem brings back all the memories of apple picking. Now that I learned the formula for creating a dansa poem, I carefully explored your form and flow. It is always fun to write alongside the Poetry Pals.
ReplyDeleteI love a crisp Fuji too! This form was new to me, but once I started it felt fairly forgiving, and I wound up loving it. Happy you're writing with us!
DeleteI love this poem but this part especially:
ReplyDeletea pugnacious reply
to bruising dark, and all that must die
I will never look at the fruits of fall in the same way again.
Thanks, Tricia...and thanks again for pointing me towards the "joy" component during our ZOOM chat---i was floundering and you helped right me.
DeleteI'm such an apple person - when I was a child I was annoyed when my mother offered them to me when I whined, "I"m hungry," but that was before I knew about Honeycrisp, Envy, Jazz, Fuji, Pink Lady... now I have to limit myself or give myself a stomach ache. I, too feel that you've absolutely NAILED it in the final lines --
ReplyDeletethose trees planted, row on row
are an orderly riot, a pugnacious reply
to bruising dark, and all that must die;
My HEART. That is just so beautiful. Here's to not going gentle into that bruising dark - even if it is a good night that happens every year.
I remember only Red Delicious and Granny Smith when I was young---with Golden Delicious as the "gourmet" option, hee hee.
DeleteOur favorite is Stayman. We can only find them this time of year, and so far I'm still looking. Both tart and sweet and crunchy and wonderful. Thanks for this dansa... so many good lines, my mouth is watering!
ReplyDeleteThey have Stayman at Eastern Market here in DC sometimes. I love them to mix in with other varieties in a pie.
DeleteOh, this is bursting with joy! I love the chant nature of your apple varieties (reminds me of April Pulley Sayre's chants, too) and the way you weave that into this poem with a bigger message about life, death, and the resilience of nature and the humans who grasp at it. Beautiful. My favorite is usually Braeburn. I had some from the farmers' market a couple of years ago called Snowsweet, and they were like dessert! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteMmmm, Braeburn....I should've worked that name in too!
DeleteAfter all the thankful poems for fall leaves, your dansa joy for apples shows the best of autumn, Sara. I ate an apple a day for years with a few additions like peanut butter when I taught. They kept me going and healthy. There is news this past week in Denver that volunteers picked 10,000 pounds of apples from people's backyards to give to those in need. It's an "apple" kind of time for sure!
ReplyDelete10, 000 pounds! That's super cool. (And I love, love, an apple half with peanut butter---it's the perfect snack.)
DeleteYum! Honeycrisp will always be my fave, but now I want to host an apple-tasting! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAn apple tasting would be an amazing fall party idea!
DeleteYUM! A good Cortland apple is my fav. What a (red) delicious way to accomplish this challenge.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, Cortlands! I'll have to write another poem to include all the varieties I left out of the dance....
DeleteMy favorite apple is a Cosmic Crisp. I can see this poem so clearly. I loved "rapacious crow"
ReplyDeleteA pugnacious reply indeed! Love the rhythm (the dance!) of this poem. I've never had a Blondee. I think Honeycrisp is my current favorite.
ReplyDelete