Daniel Henry Rodgers Poet Sonnet

Notes About The Poem

“Grace was in all her steps,
heaven in her eye.”
- John Milton

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“All, everything that I understand,
I understand only because I love.”
- Leo Tolstoy

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“What we call the beginning is often the end,
and to make an end is to make a beginning.”
- T.S. Eliot

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“We were together. I forget the rest.”
- Walt Whitman

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“We loved with a love that was more than love.”
— Edgar Allan Poe

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At the Orchard’s Verge, You Begin

Your wrists smell of fig sap and October rain 
your shoulder blades two furrows turned for seed
your spine the long fence-row the sparrows read
at dusk, each vertebra a sheaf of grain
The vineyard heaves into your windowpane
as roots cleave—slow, below, agreed
and where your collarbone dips, the ripe world feeds
its split apricot, moth-wing, what my palms have gleaned

I turn toward you at the sink, your hair still wet
and lay my ring along the small of your back
the pear boughs laden, the foxes at the run
the creek gone sloe at the farthest bend
what forty years of kneeling cleaves in earnest
one body known, the soul brought into harvest.


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Moon Harp June 8, 2026 at 8:36 PM Oh my gosh, Daniel, this is so poetic and romantic. Your metaphors speak volumes of the detail you observe in your beloved. And those last two lines! Wow. Moon Harp

Andrea Dietrich June 3, 2026 at 2:12 PM Creatively sensual one, Daniel. Such beautiful metaphors. One of your best. A fave great quotes too

Craig Cornish June 3, 2026 at 11:29 AM Special thoughts ~ and a perfect expression thereof ----Daniel, thank you for expressing your gift and your heart...

Sara Kendrick June 2, 2026 at 5:18 PM Creative and very descriptive lines you have penned. Way to go. Sara K.

Sam Kauffman June 1, 2026 at 11:23 AM Dear Daniel, what a tender expression of committed love all framed in metaphors of things that grow - including your love! I agree with Valsa, the images and quotes add to the loveliness of this beautiful love poem. Thank you for sharing. So glad to be back to read this inspiring verse. Life has been beyond chaotic and I am hoping to get back to PS more regularly! Sending you blessings, dear friend.

Valsa George May 30, 2026 at 9:13 PM The metaphors of ploughing, sowing and harvesting- how ingeniously you have connected all these to love. May the farmer after putting his body and soul into his orchard of marital life have the blessing to harvest a bumper crop of love. The image and the quotes from various poets on love add to the beauty of the sonnet.

JC Brul May 25, 2026 at 6:12 PM You have woven a captivating piece with so much ease! I am mesmerized ^____^ JCB

Bj Legros Kelley May 23, 2026 at 5:39 PM How lovely, reminding me of the Song of Solomon! What a beautiful tribute to your beautiful love, very sweet!

Nette Onclaud May 23, 2026 at 7:37 AM you paint artwords of devotion so breathlessly enchanting, reflecting symbols of sweet nature, daniel... happy 40th!

Sotto Poet May 22, 2026 at 10:37 AM Daniel, your poetry uses metaphors and imagery to depict a person intimately linked to nature realistically and emotionally. The poem is enjoyable to read due to its unified structure and seamless flow. The narrative voice and theme are obvious.

Anne Winter May 20, 2026 at 7:59 PM Dearest Daniel, a love like this is forever. I have read about so many brilliant love stories and they say that true love remains forever and forever is the word invented by true love itself. Your sonnet reflects so much pureness of true love's innocence and beauty. A beautiful sonnet! With love and respect always, Anne

David Crandall May 20, 2026 at 6:47 PM It's very nice to read about this kind of love.

Beryl Edmonds May 20, 2026 at 12:26 PM A lovely tribute poem to your wife Daniel. Hubby and me have clocked up fifty eight years wed, come December… Beryl

Lin Lane May 19, 2026 at 8:31 PM When a love such as this ripens, it will not be bottled. An attentive husband knows every inch of his vineyard and savors its fruits year after year. It’s always harvest time of body and soul. Sensitively sown lines of seduction, Daniel. Daniel Henry Rodgers May 20, 2026 at 7:59 AM Dear Lin, my wife and I will have been married for 44 years in June. I grew up on the farmlands and orchards near Gettysburg, and this poem's inspiration comes from my wife and from the farmlands. Thank you, my friend! Blessings, Daniel

Paige Hind May 19, 2026 at 6:02 PM amazing poem, how romantic " oh to have someone for forty years" :) love love the last few lines of the first stanza Daniel Henry Rodgers May 20, 2026 at 7:56 AM Dear Paige, Thank you, my sweet friend. We will be married for 44 years come June. Lots of life lived to the fullest! Blessings, Daniel