APPLES IN WINTER

A heartsome thing it is to look
At evening in your study
And find beside your favorite book
Some apples cool and ruddy,
Whose russet, yellow, brown, and red
Are memories of the richness shed
When lovely Autumn tossed her head
And from the hilltops lightly fled.
Their spicy skin, so crisp and tart,
Recalls a nook where winds have been
To flavor them with highest art
By driving dew and sunshine in,
While foaming juice and luscious meat
Suggest the fragrance of the rain
That flavored them with essence sweet
And ripened them to match the grain.
A heartsome thing it is to look
At evening in your study
And find beside your favorite book
Some apples cool and ruddy,
Whose russet, yellow, brown, and red
Are memories of the richness shed
When lovely Autumn tossed her head
And from the hilltops lightly fled.