George Weatherby

In the Orchard

Summary


"In the Orchard" is a short poem by George Weatherby that captures the joy of apple-picking season in just a few musical lines. Rosy-red apples hang from heavy branches above gnarled grey and brown trunks, and laughter rings out as the fruit showers down. The repeated refrain of "O the apples rosy-red" gives the poem a playful, chant-like rhythm, with bright colour and harvest-time merriment in every line.

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O the apples rosy-red,
O the gnarled trunks grey and brown,
Heavy branchéd overhead;
O the apples rosy-red,
O the merry laughter sped,
As the fruit is showered down!
O the apples rosy-red,
O the gnarled trunks grey and brown.

Children laughing as red apples shower down in the orchard, illustrating the poem In the Orchard by George Weatherby.
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Credits

George Weatherby was a poet whose verse celebrates the simple pleasures of the countryside and the seasons. In "In the Orchard," he uses a looping refrain, with the opening line returning like a chorus, to mimic the rhythm of fruit tumbling from the boughs.