They Say the Apple is a Descendant of the Rose

John H Reif

There surely could not be two more distinct things,

The rose

so femalely soft,

clad with a delicate perfume and coloration

but with hidden prickles if ill-touched,

As so different is the apple,

crisp, direct and nourishing,

with little aroma except that from the earnest sweat of morning hours.

And yet one sees the hints of the relation between the rose and apple

in the small apples of wild roses

just as we find our own relation to others in our shared family of humanity.