Green apple time! an', Oh, the joy <br />Once more to be a healthy boy, <br />Casting a longin' greedy eye <br />At every tree he passes by! <br />Riskin' the direst consequence <br />To sneak inside a neighbor's fence <br />An' shake from many a loaded limb <br />The fruit that seems so near to him <br />Gosh! but once more I'd like to be <br />The boy I was in eighty-three. <br /> <br />Here I am sittin' with my pipe, <br />Waitin' for apples to get ripe; <br />Waitin' until the friendly sun <br />Has bronzed 'em all an' says they're done; <br />Not darin' any more to climb <br />An' pick a few afore their time. <br />No legs to run, no teeth to chew <br />The way that healthy youngsters do; <br />Jus' old enough to sit an' wait <br />An' pick my apple from a plate. <br /> <br />Plate apples ain't to be compared <br />With those you've ventured for an' dared. <br />It's winnin' 'em from branches high, <br />Or nippin' 'em when no one's by, <br />Or findin' 'em the time you feel <br />You really need another meal, <br />Or comin' unexpectedly <br />Upon a farmer's loaded tree <br />An' grabbin' all that you can eat, <br />That goes to make an apple sweet. <br /> <br />Green apple time! Go to it, boy, <br />An' cram yourself right full o' joy; <br />Watch for the farmer's dog an' run; <br />There'll come a time it can't be done. <br />There'll come a day you can't digest <br />The fruit you've stuffed into your vest, <br />Nor climb, but you'll sit down like me <br />An' watch 'em ripening on the tree, <br />An' jus' like me you'll have to wait <br />To pick your apples from a plate.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/green-apple-time/
