Fruits in Poetry: My Lemonade and Apple Cider Stands

Tim Truzy is a poet, short-story author, and he is currently working on several novels.

My Stands in Life

Driving down country roads in my state during autumn or spring, people can be seen selling fresh agricultural goods. Usually, a variety of fruit can be purchased straight from farmers along the roadside stands. However, even when I was young, I gleefully sold lemonade and apple cider to friends and strangers alike at stands. My fondest memory is pooling my earnings from those endeavors with neighbors to help an elderly couple in financial trouble. Today, I see the same response: People coming together to support each other during intense crises. This poem is dedicated to all of us. From different sources and routine conversations, I’ve noted some common fruit related phrases and interesting facts about these natural marvels.

Poll

Stands on Lemonade and Apple Cider

Thoughts I didn’t render nor ask with a care,

Free of impending neighbor trouble to share

Holders’ voices giving noise to my well-trained ear,

Ache to rot like apple in unbroken heartbreak.

Moon shot out the wetland whiskey while the moon,

Shine baskets filled with hooks from the court I shot,

And the nurse rolled up my sleeve to give me a flu shot,

I said, “Oh, dear! You hurt much a lot?

You give me salt for my wounds? I’m not Lot!”

I’ll pick the cherries to build my own dish,

Washer I’ll lay the melons to cross raging streams,

I’ll do nothing if ahead rests grapevine debris,

For all my follies,

Lord, have love on me!

I had a little money I confess,

Debt is lemons clogging up my big nest,

I sold my soles to walk clearing pests,

I believe the pesticides loss to honey dew contests.

The economy is economized by a ghost

Writer who will not break down, break up, break-in, on either side,

Breakthroughs and breakouts no braking compromise,

Or break-dance, spinning acorn:

I hear strawberries hold the prize.

Gather oranges and lemon to feed my sleep themes,

I’ll lay the stones to guard verbal streams,

I’ll do something if I must swim seas,

For all my mistakes,

Lord, have love on me!

I recalled and called again, “Man!

Darin’ taste the liquid! Cup up. Sip satisfaction! Man

Kind as can be. Red and yellow hue

Man! Purchase, hear Please.”

With pail I tried to bail my sinking boat,

Couldn’t post the bail because quite simply I choked,

I started a business with barn hay bales,

Banks were narrow telling me the ship wouldn’t sail,

My shadow casting cranberries the right pale.

Youth made me a lemonade stand,

Up from the hill from the fans,

Little drops dripped juice and pulp,

Fiction it’s all in a cup of feed,

Back to the end:

Danger speed I’m a moving bus,

Boy on a mission to become a horse,

Shoe stepping raisins into reality.

I sing the awful awestruck drowned key,

Sea not for me to see.

Lord, have mercy and love on me.

No, they don’t shout or tell.

Know they don’t shout the tale.

Go I craze not the busy wire,

Tapping my old childhood worth inspired.

Is my past heavy drum throbbing dumb,

Bell ringing weight upon my aging

Shoulders slouched by them with good?

Years rolled by and still I go further with thumb and finger

Tip my cup of Tea?

I don’t long to be buried deep

Seas seeping into my skin beneath stones,

Or shallow just on hallow lemon ground

Water sour seeping in to cleanse to singe,

Hare and hair as I sip and all my misdeeds.

Lord, have mercy on me,

And replenish my stands for life you are pleased.

Fruit Associated Words in Daily life and Art

Truly, we are inundated with the significance of fruits symbolism in the real-world and art. For example, many people recognize New York City as “the Big Apple.” Meanwhile, the giant computer company bearing the name of this fruit employs thousands, influencing technology and communications. Incidentally, an apple isn’t mentioned as the fruit which cause the fall of mankind in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Like the apple, expressions and words associated with fruit we use have become common without much notice. I’ve selected a few below.

Eleven Fruit Related Terms and Phrases We Use

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away: One study revealed this saying is false. Nevertheless, this fruit is rich in nutrition. The aphorism first appeared in the United Kingdom as a different rhyme: Eat an apple before bed, and the doctor will not earn his bread.
• Apple of my eye: Arising from the 9^th-century or earlier, this idiom relates to something considered precious. Shakespeare and the King James Version of the Bible use this phrase.
• Bananas: Similar terms are “going ape” and “going crazy.” This term denotes wild behavior or extreme excitement.

• Banana republic: This term refers to a country where a national government is constantly in turmoil because of legitimacy issues. The expression was coined by the American writer, O. Henry, in his book, Cabbages and Kings.
• Cherry picking: Cherry picking means selecting the most profitable or rewarding option from what is available. This practice can reduce creativity while hindering accurate analysis. Cherry-picking derives from agriculture, where berry pickers selected the best fruit.
• Grapevine: People may say: “We received this information through the grapevine.” This expression refers to acquiring information through indirect communications.

• Lemon: Originating in the 1920s, this term refers to a bad deal or defective products. For instance: The car he bought was a lemon.
• One rotten apple spoils the barrel: Rotting apples release ethylene gas. Usually, apples were kept in a barrel, meaning other apples would be impacted. This proverb suggests one bad thing or person can ruin a project or situation.
• Plum: We may apply this term to describing a satisfying opportunity or the best part of an item. For instance: He works at a plum job. In portions of the southern U.S., “plum” is also an adverb in speech and writing. For example: The cat sitting on the chair can be plum silly
• Sour grapes: This refers to the unattainable object of someone’s desire. It originated from an Aesop fable about a fox’s struggle to reach grapes.
• Top banana: A person in charge is considered the top banana. The phrase is credited to Vaudeville.

A Few Interesting Facts about Fruits

1. In botanical terms, fruit contain seeds and grow from flowers. Roots, leaves, and stems are often called vegetables. However, many fruit are often considered vegetables in the culinary world, including: cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants. The most popular fruits globally are: tomatoes, bananas, and watermelons. Bananas and apples hold the top spots in the United States with lemons ranked high in metric tons consumed.
2. Nevertheless, Brazil produces the most oranges in the world, and Florida along with California leads in the citrus fruit production in America. Strawberries were first grown in straw, and the”seeds” are actually fruit. The cantaloupe is the most popular melon in the U.S., but the fruit originated in Africa.
3. Americans consume about 20 apples annually per person, and the state of Washington grows the most apples in the nation. But only one pineapple a year grows from an individual plant. Finally, the lemon originated in Asia. Lemon trees produce fruit all year.

Comments

Tim Truzy (author) from U.S.A. on December 24, 2020:

In movies, fruit have made their presence known. There are releases such as:James and the Giant Peach (1996), Cranberries Christmas (2020), and who can forget: The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Of course, there are many more. Fruit certainly inspires creativity. Thanks for reading.

Tim Truzy (author) from U.S.A. on December 24, 2020:

We know N.Y. City as the Big Apple, but other cities have fruit nicknames. There is the Big Peach (Atlanta.) and the Big Mango (Bangkok). We seldom think about these daily realities. Thanks for dropping by.

Tim Truzy (author) from U.S.A. on December 22, 2020:

I remember the artist known as Prince sang about a lady in a raspberry beret in his 1980s classic. The raspberry is a rather unpleasant gesture we use, and I didn't feel a need to add it to my article. Don't give me a raspberry for that. Fruit have influenced clothing colors as well as fun songs. Thanks for visiting.

Tim Truzy (author) from U.S.A. on December 22, 2020:

We cannot forget great rock groups with fruit names, such as the Cranberries and Blind Melons. They still rock today although some of the members of these groups have moved on. Thanks for reading.