Idunn's Gift

Age isn't a matter of body, but mind,
for years that bring wisdom, they also bring grief.
A child's day's eternal; an old mind will find
every year flying faster, the days all too brief.

Age is felt and not counted, as Memory and Thought
sit with heavier weight on your shoulders each day.
The blossoms have wilted, the autumn has brought
bareness to branches, and leaves' decay.

But the apples remain, and in each golden orb
is the sunshine of bliss and the sweetness of youth.
The joy and the zeal of your childhood, absorbed,
the taste of your springtime, untouched by time's tooth.

For this is my gift to Gods and to men,
I'm saving life's savour in fruit that makes whole.
An apple each day, I will grant you again
not youth of the body, but youth of the soul.

© Michaela Macha of Odin's Gift

- This poem is in the Common Domain and may be freely distributed
provided it remains unchanged, including copyright notice and this License -