Daniel's blog

‘Neglect’ is a poem written by R. T Smith about his apple tree that he neglected. The author is presumably a farmer. It grew Red Delicious apples (a type of apple) and provided with shade, pretty blossoms in the spring, tarts, cider and bees dazzling by the pollen. This apple tree had been living with the farmer for 20 years. Obviously Smith was very attached to the tree.

Recently, the farmer bought pear saplings (baby pear trees) and gradually, the author turned his attention away from the apple tree to the pear trees. This sets a mood to the poem and myself as a reader feels sorry for the apple tree, even though it is not a person or an animal. The farmer did not  cut off the dead branches for winter, and the sap clogged up the systems inside the tree. The farmer was too occupied by the pear saplings. Soon, the apple tree grew ill of disease and soon passed away.

The Red Delicious Apple tree was no use to the farmer anymore and he used the apple wood as fire wood.  Now, he sits inside, smelling the apple wood burning into ashes and regretting what he had done to the tree. He remembers the good times he had with it and how beautiful if was. For now, he will sit, with his heart full of sorrow. “Watched each branch with a Goshawks’s eye,” is a metaphor that expresses the farmers guilt and builds on the theme. Almost to the end of the poem, on the sixth and seventh stanzas, Smith starts to think about the times he had with the tree and what it gave him, which shows the growth of guilt and sadness

I think that the deeper meaning of this poem is not only directed to trees, but to people. For example, my grandmother provides me with life, money, Christmas presents and love. If she died, then I could only imagine what I had lost. Like they say, “you don’t know what you’ve lost, until it’s gone.” My opinion of this message is very important because it can relate to so many issues that we have in the world today.  For example, pollution. I don’t think that many human beings have a great respect for our environment, our home. If we trash the world, then nobody can live with out it.

Smith seems very passionate about this subject and writes a poem about the topic, using a Red Delicious Apple tree as an example instead of human beings etc. If you use different examples instead of apple trees, you start to see what the author is trying to convey.

Poem:

Is the scent of apple boughs smoking
in the woodstove what I will remember
of the Red Delicious I brought down, ashamed

that I could not convince its limbs to render fruit?
Too much neglect will do that, skew the sap’s
passage, blacken leaves, dry the bark and heart.

I should have lopped the dead limbs early
and watched each branch with a goshawk’s eye,
patching with medicinal pitch, offering water,

compost and mulch, but I was too enchanted
by pear saplings, flowers and the pasture,
too callow to believe that death’s inevitable

for any living being unloved, untended.
What remains is this armload of applewood
now feeding the stove’s smolder. Splendor

ripens a final time in the firebox, a scarlet
harvest headed, by dawn, to embers.
Two decades of shade and blossoms – tarts

and cider, bees dazzled by the pollen,
spare elegance in ice – but what goes is gone.
Smoke is all, through this lesson in winter

regret, I’ve been given to remember.
Smoke, and Red Delicious apples redder
than a passing cardinal’s crest or cinders.

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/014.html

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1.    15alotaibik 12.09.10 @ 1:23 am      

   Hey Daniel, I liked your post because it was mostly about feelings, now thats good, but the thing that made me go “ah when is this going to end” was because of the main idea. This happened because I didn’t know the main idea is about the apple tree or the neglact? next time make sure what your main idea is.

2.    15modekurtin 12.09.10 @ 1:24 am      

   When I first read the poem, the first thing that came to my head was that the apple tree was just a symbol that showed behavior of humans. I remembered to add that as my comment. But I then started reading your analysis….I’m mad that you took my ‘idea’ ☺. I agree with the part of when you described the connection between why the apple tree relates to human behavior and loss. The environment is a perfect example to use since we won’t know what we neglected and lost till its actually too late. I also found a connection between your interpretation of how the farmer neglected the apple trees for the new pear trees. Though the apple trees were at first possibly even close to the farmer, as soon as something better came along, it was forgotten. It is debatable but I think the poet uses this to show people’s relationships and sometimes even friendships.

3.    Susie Clifford 01.12.11 @ 10:41 pm      

   You have offered a personal interpretation of the poem and made connections between the theme in the poem and your own life. You were able to discuss some poetic devices, though needed to make more reference to how the poet conveys the message or theme of the poem. I enjoyed your discussion about the tone of the poem in your third paragraph. Your post prompted a good response from Nikita. You did need to cite your picture.
   You could have used quotations for words like ‘cider’ and ‘bees’ etc in your introduction, as this shows a good knowledge of the poem. The organization of your blog was very good and it was easy to follow.
   * Please cite your picture.