Welcome to National Poetry Month! Dedicating April to poetry is a great way to remind us to enjoy the wealth of poetry we can turn to for sustenance.
One of best known poems of the early 20th century is T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land.” The first few words, “April is the cruellest month,” have become part of the language, even if many people don’t recognize where they come from.
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept
us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with
dried tubers.
When you read the second part, about how winter kept us blanketed in forgetfulness, it comes clear why April which awakens us to life by stirring both our memories and our desires, can be seen as cruel.
I’ve never been one to like being kept in the haze of winter as I delight in that which flourishes when the spring rain nourishes those “dull roots.” Sometimes what grows is dangerous or sad, but I’m willing to take that risk. In some ways, I’m just a fool for life ;). And a fool for poetry, too.
Either because photos are poems–or just because–here are some photos of northern California spring splendor I took in March, when California spring really begins:
This last photo shows the blossoming almond trees in the background. For more on the almond trees, here is a photo and short-short piece on Cowbird.
