M. Harlene Henry
April is designated as poetry month but at the Barrington Writers Workshop every month is poetry month. In this post, M. Harlene Henry shares a poem of spring. For the past ten years her focus has been on writing Haiku, Tanka and Free Verse compositions. She says: “BWW is the oasis of support, encouragement and welcoming camaraderie that I’ve been searching for.”
GENTEEL SPRING
April 2023
the earth
splits asunder
our planet exhales
sprouts strain toward
spring’s beaming sun
brighter by orders of
magnitude than winter’s
low-watt glower
lustful lively critters
careen up down across
mulchy marshy meadows
daringly dart across
gardeners’ Crocs squelching
in soggy garden beds
where staid storm
windows stood guard
screens wave greetings to
whitecapped ice free lake
the senses reel
birdsong trills thrill
unmuffed ears on an
operatic scale
sunglasses shield winter’s
squinty snowblind eyes
from spring’s dazzling
phosphorescent
purple hyacinths
lilacs’ aromas lure
those indoors outdoors
lapping tongues hail the rain
quit cursing the hail
fingers twitch to dig
deep deeper into
mother earth’s mass
genteel spring?
hardly
Such a beautiful evocation of the change of the seasons. I can almost breath the fresh spring air. I particularly like ‘our planet exhales’ resulting in all these fantastic images. What a beautiful piece of work. Thank you for sharing this, Harlene!
Many thanks for your kind remarks. I deeply appreciate your encouragement! Best regards, Harlene
Bravo to Harlene and this lovely tribute to Spring.
Thank you, Trudy. Your support for the past ten years has been exceptional. Now that BWW is working with me, you will have more time to write your own wonderful poems! XOXO Harlene
Amazing just like you!