Boy In The Apple Tree

Boy In The Apple Tree
© Surazeus
2018 08 15

The boy in the apple tree on the hill
watches horses gallop along the river
that winds around hills under shining clouds.
"The priest in the small stone church by the sea
tells me God is a man in the bright clouds
and Satan is a man deep underground
who both watch everything I do and say.
God wants to lift me up into bright clouds
where I will live forever young and strong
to eat fruit and play music and sing hymns.
Satan wants to drag me down to dark caves
where I will writhe forever old and weak
to suffer pain while burning in hot flames.
The priest tells me that servants of those two,
angels and devils, whom I cannot see,
follow me each day everywhere I go,
fighting over who wins me to their side."

The boy in the apple tree on the hill
looks around at the trees, rocks, grass, and sheep
that shimmer in rays of light from the sun.
He feels the cool breeze blowing from the sea
ruffle his hair like flowers on the hill.
"I see no angels or devils in light,
and, though he says they are invisible,
I cannot believe those spirits are real.
How often I felt terror squeeze my heart
and sink heavy in my heart like a stone
at this thought that angels and devils haunt
my footsteps everywhere I go each day.
Yet now I think the priest lies to my face,
though he seems to believe they all are real,
so he lies though he thinks he tells the truth.
I cannot believe what I cannot see
for I trust only what my hands can feel,
so I will think about the pretty girl
who brings me loaves of bread to eat each day
instead of ghosts who haunt the frightened priest."

The boy in the apple tree on the hill
strums the lyre he made from hard turtle shell
and sings sweet melodies about his love
for the girl who brings him fresh bread to eat.