And April sunshine warms the air,
A pleasure to at last be free
From winter’s rainfall, dull despair,
As temperatures begin to climb.
But there’s a threat we can’t ignore,
A curse, in apple blossom time.

The atmosphere is fresh and clear,
No vapour trails traverse the sky;
But mute, unseen, a menace seeks,
Where people pass each other by,
To bring the country to its knees,
But apple blossom’s lovely now,
And birdsong carries on the breeze.

We can’t drop by to see our friends,
Can’t shake hands like we did before,
A ruthless killer’s on the loose;
Stand well back from your neighbour’s door.
Grim news each daily headline shows.
But apple trees bear scented clouds
Of snow-white blossom tinged with rose.

To war-zones hospitals have turned
With health workers on double shifts
But far from the front line am I,
I go where harmony exists
And there’s no need for masks or shields,
I feel the pulse of nature beat
And count my blessings in the fields.

And when this tyranny has passed,
Life will have surely changed for good
And everyone will come again
Together, in the neighbourhood
In gratitude, as church bells chime
That we survived a fearsome plague
That blighted apple blossom time.