Abandoned Orchard
after Alan Seeger
In the abandoned orchard, where grasses grow waist-high and wildflowers bloom among the gnarled roots, I find the remnants of a long-forgotten life. The trees, once pruned and tended, now stand as nature intended, their branches tangled, their fruit rotten on the ground.
The air is heavy with the scent of decay and growth, as if the earth itself were reclaiming what was lost. In this place, I am reminded of the transience of human endeavor, and the persistence of the natural world. The sun beats down upon my back, warming the earth, and all its secrets, and I am left to ponder the beauty of neglect, and the peace that comes from letting go.
I took Alan Seeger's fascination with the intersection of human experience and the natural world, and his use of formal yet intimate diction, to explore the theme of abandonment and decay in a rural setting. I aimed to capture the quiet contemplation and sense of tragic irony that is characteristic of his work.