SPRING FEVER
The sap is rising and the stallion rears
To clap his mighty hoofs upon the mare’s
Frisky rump, but she whisks away
As if inviting him to come and play
And he is game. Off and away they go.
It is the season that does stir the blood,
The time when every river is in flood,
And my old heart is gladdened by the show.
SIGNS OF SPRING
(with thanks to e e cummings)
Ice-melt upstream is roiling up the river
That foams and funnels under the village bridge.
Two feet of ice on Lake Winnepesaukee
Is starting to give way at the water’s edge.
Last week I heard the “cuckoo” of a phoebe
And tree frogs seeking mates with choral peeps
Along with “quarking” lately de-iced wood frogs
And redwinged blackbirds buzzing in the reeds.
Indeed it is Just spring. I also hear
The sound of children laughing in the playground,
And listening with an attentive inner ear
The goat-footed balloon man calling me.
ON THE FIRST DAY OF APRIL
As they circle and soar
In wide leisurely glides
The western sun silvers
Their wings’ undersides:
Four ebony vultures
On a springtime patrol
Back from the southlands
To clean up our roads
While a pale full moon
On the eastern horizon
Rises to bestow
A benevolent benison
And at the small pond
Two redwings chatter
To welcome the emergence
Of ice-free water.