I am an apple tree that stands alone in the wild.
Developed with no interference from the outside world.
Ready to be picked and shared with others.
Away from the other orange trees that sway and murmur between themselves.
They only spread out their branches to fellow orange trees.
I have chosen not to be one of them.
They would only disrupt my path to growth and development.
Similar but not the same.
I am a complex entity
Composed of routes and stems
I require varied soil to flourish.
Ready to be fearless.
Ready to rely on only myself.
Ready to be accepted by myself.
I do not depend on others to feel complete.
Does an apple tree in the wild need others to develop itself?
No, it does not.
It needs only its soul,
the wind, and the rain to prosper and flourish.

I’ll tell you a story, one you’ve forgotten.
About an apple tree with roots that are rotten.
This tree made apples, deformed, not round.
Spoiled and smelling, they fell to the ground.
Near to the tree, they seemed far from useful.
No creature would eat them to make themselves full.
But these apple seeds were untouched, unspoiled.
By removing the rot, in water that boiled,
The farmer could purify these seeds,
Use them for his needs,
Even though they were rotten.
Don’t let this story be forgotten.

Do not bury me in a box
of oak or lead or ivory.
I will have no use for pillows
or satin, and no want for clothes.

Do not bid farewell
to my ashes from a clifftop
or kneel in idolatrous
worship at my Grecian altar.

Lay me to rest
beneath an orchard
that you many eat
of my body.

Carve your initials
into the bark
of the apple tree
I am to become
and let me live once more.

hold of me
apple tree
i think i am controlling
but it's holding me
can't frolic
can't be
the apples that grow on this tree
are no good for me