skin, or the bruises on the apples, the bruises meaning mistakes made.
             The reason for the reflection is evident when the speaker says, "I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight I got from looking through a pane of glass I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough and held against the world of hoary grass". From this it seems that our speaker has caught a glimpse of his reflection in the "drinking trough" and has noticed that the reflection was "hoary", or gray with age. This reflection seems to not only depict his age, but also his regret. It is as if the speaker sees more than just himself
             in the reflection in the drinking trough. He seems to be seeing visions of his life. "There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall". Our speaker seems to be seeing all of his chances, or opportunities. The reverence in which he speaks of them, the word "cherish", and the actions described give us the sense that the speaker is suddenly now, in reflection, realizing how important this "fruit" was. In the next instance he states that "For all that struck the earth, No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble, went surely to the cider-apple heap as of no worth". The bruises on the fruit represent the mistakes or misused chances, maybe even failure, but the fact that these bruised apples went "to the cider-apple heap as of no worth" seems to be an epiphany to our speaker. He is just now realizing that though these apples were bruised, cider still came from them. It is clear to him now that they went "as of no worth", only because!
             he did not know that even mistakes have worth, even if just to learn from them. The reason for the speaker's sudden surge of regret seems to be looming death, for he states in the very first line, "My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree toward heaven still". This reference to heaven is the first evidence that the speaker thinks he is going to die....