(with a bit of irony because I know what I know)
Spring
To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Am I crazy that this is so reassuring to me?
ReplyDeleteI love this, the imagery, the humor.
ReplyDeleteIt says so much.
She's so great. Wow.
ReplyDelete"It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
ReplyDeleteApril
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers."
These are my favorite lines of this poem. We do know what we know, don't we?
"not only under ground are the brains of men" !
ReplyDeleteI love this! I haven't seen this poem before but the "April comes like an idiot" line perfectly describes Spring in Seattle. One minute calm with the gorgeous cherry blossoms, the next wind swirling around like mad, to epic downpours followed by sunlight so bright everything steams from the ground up. Yowza!
ReplyDeleteI love this poem (I think you've posted it in a past spring)
ReplyDeletespring is a diva - garish makeup and costume jewelry all in your face - "love me! love me now!"