A montage of glimpses that helped inspire today’s poem…
a poem that ended up being an all-day-long doggerel
as lines were snagged between a rather dizzying dash of to-do-ness
Treetop’s translucent flickers wink; its first fanned flame is brief
Soon every bit of blue-sky chink will be filled in with leaf…
At dusk frayed half-leaf shadows sprawl beneath a pastel sky…
And everywhere we look green ambience haloes the land
Unraveled in skein after skein from the Creator’s hand…
Time’s wheel of seasons spins; it’s the beginning of Sweet May
The Belle of Blossoms wins; Old Man Winter is tucked away
Contagious rapture seizes outstretched arms of heart and soul
Hope trembles on warm breezes like a celestial drum roll
Below the hill the winding brook meanders between reeds
It curls its gurgling lay through nooks where the blue heron feeds
And everywhere we look green ambience haloes the land
Unraveled in skein after skein from the Creator’s hand
Treetop’s translucent flickers wink; its first fanned flame is brief
Soon every bit of blue-sky chink will be filled in with leaf
Soon every wooden wick will brim with hymns of nature’s praise
Kindling the giddy glance and glim of glorious summer days
Forget-me-nots dazzle the dell with periwinkle whiff
Regal tulip-chalice compels us to draw near and sniff
To peer deep into petal-souls and be completely awed
At each iconic detail extolling the eye of God
The slope is strewn with sunbeams; yellow dappled luxury
I wonder, was the dandelion post-Eden or pre?
The robin entertains, with earnest tug-for-dinner fight
The grosbeaks and orioles return, to Birdwatcher’s delight
Time’s wheel of seasons spins. It’s May, and the glad gardener cheers
The perky pansy grins, the bleeding heart bursts into tears
The fallow furrow beckons and the chipping sparrow trills
The brooding bloom plot reconciles and smiles in daffodils
The worry-wart forgets to fret, as beauty tames the Beast
As joy, once set before us sets a sumptuous splendor-feast
And worship overflows, in hearts susceptible to bliss
Of blush-blue-green-gold works of art, as earth yields to spring’s kiss
May turns our spirits younger in a bare foot happy-dance
May satisfies the hunger for a soil-and-soul romance
May grants a glimpse of Heaven in earth’s air of welcome hugs
Past garden-woes forgiven; (yes, even potato bugs)
May is a lithesome minstrel, piping luring melodies
May sprinkles blossom tinsel like confetti beneath trees
May makes us feel like royalty in palaces of dirt
And we become more carefree, in spite of life’s shares of hurt
May makes us very merry, imbibed with draughts of fresh air
May wears apple and cherry orchards like boughs/bows in Her hair
May unfolds frilly parasols that money cannot buy
At dusk frayed half-leaf shadows sprawl beneath a pastel sky
The farmer whistles, faith-refueled between fall and spring
Em’rald frond glistens, rain-bejeweled, bees buzz and birds sing
It’s May. Mourning doves bicker in soft-flick’ring filigree
*The frisky calf kicks up its heels, quicker than you or me
© Janet Martin
*the last line is inspired by a calf-chase I engaged in last week,
and a heads up from another neighbor this morning,
to be on the lookout for a frisky, brown calf that out ran its owners!
