Easter

What ripened fruit hung
from those dead branches
torn down and planted,
seeded deep into the earth?

What crop will it bring?

Ripened Fruit

The fruit is a reference to Jesus.

Also linked to the fruit is the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil both trees located in the Garden of Eden

I suppose the main idea that informed this phrase come from John 15:1

One of the ideas that informed this phrase was the song 'Strange Fruit' by Billie Holiday. And the poem 'Strange Fruit' by Seamus Heaney.

Dead Branches

The dead branches are a reference to the crucifix.

There are three references to dead branches. The first refers to the planks of wood used in the cross. The second is a reference to the Roman Empire and religion and Jewish religion at the time.

Planted Seeded

Refers specifically to Jesus' body placed in the garden tomb after his death recorded in Luke 23:50-56

But also informing these words are the vegetation cults recorded in The Golden Bough by James Frazer and used in The Waste Land by T S Eliot. Eliot writes in his infamous Notes on The Waste Land,

"To another work of anthropology I am indebted in general, one which has influenced our generation profoundly; I mean The Golden Bough; I have used especially the two volumes Adonis, Attis, Osiris. Anyone who is acquainted with these works will immediately recognize in the poem certain references to vegetation ceremonies."

Easter

What ripened fruit hung
from those dead branches
torn down and planted,
seeded deep into the earth?

What crop will it bring?