May day morning (2009) for Carol Ann Duffy
Posted: May 1, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized 3 CommentsMay Day Morning – for Carol Ann Duffy
May Day morning, and a new laureate springs into being.
I walk in the woods, with the dogs, wind tailed and mischievous.
The leaf moulded track is
giddy with wild garlic, fat with bluebells, littered by birdsong.
As I walk, I think of poets, old and new,
and, of course, of you.
The dogs are frantic now, madly squirrel chasing, hunting imagined foes.
My mind turns to May Day,
the pagan carousel,
whirling around the Maypole,dizzily celebrating spring.
So much, so many, danced before.
And my mantra, my spring song
shifts to a chant of honour
for those I have loved, who
gather the cherry blossom
eternally, and elsewhere.
For them, this, a May Day prayer.
Back to the bursting, bubbling stream, Welsh water leaping and twisting
over moss topped rock,
The dogs, boldly swimming.
A dipper bobs a greeting, a woodland, May Day meeting.
2 old cottages lichened and retreating.
Slate cutters, shepherds.
Who might have danced there,
footsteps fleeting
Canopied in the cavelike greenwood?
I hope there were revels then,
As now, and hopefully will be, again.
The dogs, dragging now, homeward bound.
Not necessarily, their favourite command.
But I need to spring to you,
Leave behind the drifting bluebells,
the pink flushed forest carpet.
Home to you, intoxicated beyond all reason.
Home to you, my May Day Queen,
cherished, ever adored.
Across
beyond, this fabled season.
Beautiful!
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What a joyous, Spring-like, celebratory poem!
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Your poetry gets better and better. I felt that I was there walking with you. Your description is beautiful and the dogs playful activity throughout adds to the sense of joy. Well done!
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