The Orchard

The Orchard

(Words and music by and © Talis Kimberley, 2009)

It is a fine thing to plant an orchard
And raise up young trees to bear sweet fruit
It’s the leaf and the petal; it’s the star in the circle
Bless the branch, bless the blossom, bless the root.

On the train from London, too tired to be reading
I watched the landscape through dirty glass
And there grew fruit trees from the cores of apples
Flung out of the window by travellers decades past

It is a fine thing to plant an orchard…

And within my garden I’ve four of my own now
Bess Poole and the General, Burr Knot
(or Mister Bide)
Annie Eliz’beth, talisman from my from childhood
They’re young but they’re growing,
And a daily source of pride

Apple, medlar, peach & pear,
Fruit to store & fruit to share.
Apple, greengage, damson, plum:
Give it time & the fruit will come.

It is a fine thing to plant an orchard…