"The Light Comes Brighter"
The light comes brighter from the east; the caw
Of restive crows is sharper on the ear.
A walker at the river’s edge may hear
A cannon crack announce an early thaw.
The sun cuts deep into the heavy drift,
Though still the guarded snow is winter sealed,
At bridgeheads buckled ice begins to shift,
The river overflows the level field.
Once more the trees assume familiar shapes,
As branches loose last vestiges of snow.
The water stored in narrow pools escapes
In rivulets; the cold roots stir below.
Soon field and wood will wear an April look,
The frost be gone, for green is breaking now;
The ovenbird will match the vocal brook,
The young fruit swell upon the pear-tree bough.
And soon a branch, part of a hidden scene,
The leafy mind, that long was tightly furled,
Will turn its private substance into green,
And young shoots spread upon our inner world.
-Theodore Roethke
(photos taken last week along the coast of Maine)
-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts
**ADDED NOTE: Ironically enough, I set this to post a few days ago while I was away and had uploaded some of my photos onto my laptop. I flew back to Seattle last night and today. . . it is SNOWING here! When I left two weeks ago the cherry trees were singing pink. More reflections from my trip coming in the next day or two once I have a chance to recover a bit. **
** Come back Monday for our next Poetry Party! **