& Dick the Shepherd Blows His Nail”
by Edward Robert Hughes
Soon shall the winter’s foil be here;
Soon shall these icy ligatures unbind and melt — A little while,
And air, soil, wave, suffused shall be in softness, bloom and growth — a thousand forms shall rise
From these dead clods and chills as from low burial graves.
Thine eyes, ears — all thy best attributes — all that takes cognizance of natural beauty,
Shall wake and fill.
Thou shalt perceive the simple shows, the delicate miracles of earth,
Dandelions, clover, the emerald grass, the early scents and flowers,
The arbutus under foot, the willow’s yellow-green, the blossoming plum and cherry;
With these the robin, lark and thrush, singing their songs — the flitting bluebird;
For such the scenes the annual play brings on.
~ Walt Whitman
(Sands at Seventy)
Spring still seems far away here, Barbara. And with Phil predicting six more weeks of winter … well, he’s at least in line with the calendar. I’m eager to see your Springlike photos though!
Six weeks still! 😉
This young man and his dog look about as excited as me to be immersed in Winter. Even though Woody, our local groundhog, has predicted an early Spring, I think SHE might have missed the mark and it is Phil who is more accurate this time. We have off-and-on-snow and a wintry mix event for Wednesday night as this week’s forecast. I’ll think of you discovering all those Spring wildflowers with your camera lens and remain stoic about Winter here in the Mitten state.