All Hail the Spring!
Donald P. Goodman III
Version 1.0,
All hail the spring! when summer 'fore our faces looms,
when all the bustling life in greening meadow blooms,
and casts off all the dark and brown of winter's blight,
and revels in the golden rays of sunny light;
when all the world awakens from its lengthy sleep,
and once again its hallow'd ways will start to keep;
when birds, near-silent during winter's long expanse,
renew their singing, leading nature in its dance;
when daffodils and tulips poke up from the ground
and open up, as if to have a look around,
their petals soaking warmth in that last chilly air
and speaking volumes to all men who wander there;
when dandelions open leaves and bloom so fine,
and give us joy from beauty and from sweetest wine;
when henbit, green and purple, reaches toward the sky,
delighting tongue and stomach after human eye;
when cherry blossoms open, pink and fragrant white,
a wonder for the nose, a filter for the light;
when dogwoods bloom, the marks of Christ upon their hands,
reminding us of what once pass'd in distant lands;
when squirrels, who spent the year before a-hiding nuts,
and all the winter seeking them in tiny ruts,
begin again to gather all the food they find
and store it all, away from what they've left behind;
when robins, warm at last, their redden'd breasts a-puff,
peck round the ground and find that their are worms enough,
and bees come round a-buzzing, gath'ring yellow dust
to cook the sweetest honey, strong and e'er robust;
O spring! although we know your pleasant sights and sounds
will soon give way as summer's heat begins its rounds,
the swelt'ring waves of wind soon yielding to the fall,
and then to winter's cold, the sleep and death of all;
for now, we revel and rejoice in warming light,
relax in every scent, rejoice in every sight;
O spring! we hail thee, give thee praise of every kind!
O comfort for the body, solace for the mind!