An Apple Gathering Summary

An allegorical tale about picking apples is told in An Apple Gathering. The main character gathers apple blossoms in the first verse to wear in her hair. When she goes to pick apples from the same tree later in the year she finds the tree has produced no fruit. The main character returns home, sad and with an empty basket.

Other characters are more successful in their search for fruit. Young children return home with their baskets piled high and Gertrude is helped to carry her heavy basket of fruit home by a strong lover.

The narrator misses Willy, the man she was in love with, and is upset that they will never laugh or walk together in the lane where the apples grow. She lets other characters pass by in pairs and small groups, waiting as the night...