Archive for April, 2010
Literary Mileage
Resurrection Insurrection
Monday, April 19th, 2010
Tiptoeing through the tulips...
I don’t literally believe the resurrection story in the Bible. But, I always look forward to signs of rebirth, resurgence, and renewal at this time of year. And I myself feel revitalized by the return of warmer days, the first burst of yellow daffodils, purple crocus, waxy pink magnolia blossoms, white and pink dogwoods. I look for these signs with hope (sometimes bordering on desperation) because I know we are close to safely turning the corner into spring and the calendar of seasons that I prefer more than winter.
T. S. Eliot opened his epic, “The Waste Land,” with “April is the cruelest month….” It contains numerous allusions to the Holy Grail legend. Images of death and rebirth repeat throughout the poem, leading poets and critics to a continuing debate about whether it is a poem of despair or of salvation.
For me, April’s cruelty is in teasing us with a few intensely beautiful warm days, then making us shudder with a chill wind. Over the years, my spring musings have resulted in poems, journal entries, and several picture-taking efforts. So, with humility, and to honor April as National Poetry Month, I offer you the following:
Capitol Hill in March
The Capitol Dome, an
upended pedestal bowl,
spills a raspberry-peach
sorbet across the dusk sky.
Black tree limbs knit a
lacy mantilla that cannot
subdue spring’s sensuality.
Light flashes on my
neighbor’s pink flamingo
draped with Mardi Gras beads
while the holiday holdout next door
displays a green and white wreath
of lights in a cherry tree.
Young buds soften the tips
of elm branches waving in the wind
above grass going green, buttery
daffodils and one royal purple
crocus that blooms, subversive–
between wrought iron and brick,
a sentinel node of spring.
Don’t forget Poem in Your Pocket Day, April 29!
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
subscribe to my blog via email
subscribe to my blog via rss
ph: 202.544.8902
fx: 202.544.2011
email: judy@jleaver.com
services »
writing samples »
past clients »
judy's resume »
judy's blog »