“Spring has returned.
The earth is like a child that knows poems.”
– fr. Sonnets to Orpheus, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 – 1926)
THERE IS NO SPRING
(Gretna Green, Scotland, Spring of 1987)
there is no spring
when ardent leaves sprout not
from twisted stems of teeming shrub –
blushes of verdant life bursting
as though it were the last season
on this darling earth…
there is no spring
when fervent flowers fail
to flush and flourish –
blossom buds unfurling petals
like famished orphans
praying for April rain…
there is no spring
when zealous birds would not sing
in chorus with luxuriant brooks
and grassy glens –
in flawless harmony
with a radiant sun’s
playful rays.
ah, the shifting shades of spring…
– between winter and summer is spring.
– between failure and success is hope.
– between adversity and victory is will.
(c) 1987 Chito L. Aguilar
Shifting Shades 