In early spring, plants respond to the energy of the sun, peeking out at first and then erupting. I’ve mentioned red maples, but here’s a better description by Lizette Woodworth Reese:
Down the stripped roads the maples start their small,
Soft, ’wildering fires.
That’s the peek. Here’s the eruption:
In deserted garden-walks
The lean bush crouching hints old royalty,
Feels some June stir in the sharp air and knows
Soon ’twill leap up and show the world a rose.
Lizette Woodworth Reese, 1856-1935, was a Baltimore high school teacher who wrote lyric poems. Although she was Maryland’s poet laureate, she’s not widely known today.
H.L. Mencken thought she was one of the finest poets of his day.
I’m tempted to argue it both ways:
First, that newspapermen like Mencken (and me) should never say a thing about poetry because we always get it wrong.
Second, that newspapermen like Mencken (and me) should pay careful attention to the poets, making it a point to remind readers of the those who wrote lines that shouldn’t be forgotten.
Many plants are convinced spring has arrived in Stone Mountain. Maybe I’ll mention a few examples tomorrow.
• Source: Lizette Woodworth Reese’s “Mid-March” is at the Poetry Foundation’s site:
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