The funeral drizzle of the previous months
gives way reluctantly, yet inevitably,
to the lighter, airy elements of the year—
which toil like unseen stage hands changing scenes
for self-absorbed actors who wait impatiently for their cue,
ready to take their turn upon a freshly-prepped set.
In the vale, the first to light the stage,
as she does every Spring, is the Chickadee,
who in truth, never leaves when winter pushes its way
over the mountains and into the valley below.
She flits and hides and bides her time until her friends appear
to join her once again in a chorus that, they believe,
displaces the fading dirge that, impossibly now it seems,
held them at bay these many days.
Her fellow actors—
badger, skunk and rabbit, along with lesser animals
—arrive tentatively at first, then
with ever more assurance until they shed all care
and frolic together with abandon,
rehearsing while performing their joyous song and dance,
celebrating the dawn of a new season.
A troupe of greater beasts thereafter
ventures into the vale and resumes
their perennial roles as principals in this predetermined
yet ever new rendition of Spring’s advent.
The horse, the elk, the panther, the bear
all return for this festive rite,
delighting in their varied yet consonant parts,
to the amusement and mirth of their companions.
Lastly, the magical beasts of myth and lore arrive
to witness the festivities; the greatest of God’s creatures,
stately yet shimmering with an exuberance
that hints of their secret, benevolent power.
Centaurs, Griffins, Unicorns, Pegasi,
along with a certain few others—
the limiting qualification essential
—including Giants, and Sprites, and Dragons,
friends all and all veteran actors who mostly applaud,
but occasionally join in their lesser brothers’ production.
Lyndon Perry enjoys reading, writing, and reviewing speculative literature. He is the founding editor of Residential Aliens, a zine of speculative fiction with a spiritual thread. http://residentialaliens.blogspot.com
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29 Responses to “SPRING, FINALLY • by Lyndon Perry”
Comments
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September 4th, 2009 at 7:21 am
This reads like excellent prose to me, but thank you for this very lively and well written picture of the forest waking up in spring. It views like an excitingly screened motion picture (or Bambi?). I like it. Some writing is hard to categorize.
September 4th, 2009 at 8:00 am
We had a comment saying Beatrix Potter meets Wordsworth but when I tried to unspam it it disappeared – apologies to whoever that was – maybe you can sign in again… Anyway, I’ve done my best to pass it on.
September 4th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Beatrix Potter meets Wordsworth.
Great stuff!
September 4th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Beautiful piece. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only only one who sees the world as a stage. I like the mythical twist, adding in the centaurs and such. Great job!!!!
September 4th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Thanks Roberta, Oonah, and Paul… And if anyone is wondering why the September date on publishing this piece, well, it is spring “down under” at least!
Lyn
September 4th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
That’s the one! Paul
September 4th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
It’s always the time for mythical beasties
September 4th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Great job, Lyn! I loved that.
September 4th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Wow!!!! That was sooo sooo sooo good! -C
September 4th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I like it! I especially like the “unseen stage hands.” Good work.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Very nice, especially with Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony playing softly in the background.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
“She flits and hides and bides her time until her friends appear
to join her once again in a chorus that, they believe,
displaces the fading dirge that, impossibly now it seems,
held them at bay these many days.”
THE ABOVE WAS MY FAVORITE…..WELL DONE!
September 4th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Wow, thanks Jerrod, Angie, Carole, Selena, Fred, and Debbie! Appreciate the kind comments. It is sort of pastoral mythical symphonical (?) isn’t it? lol
September 4th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Nice one Lyn!
September 4th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Loved it, simply loved it.I enjoyed following each characters entrance. Especially enjoyed the inclusion of the mythical creatures, they are pretty real, you know! And Dragons rule! I’m happy you make time for this form of relaxation. Yes, we all heard Beethoven as well. Thank you for sharing with us!
September 4th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
“April Showers?” “Singin’ in the Rain?” Nah. I like “Springth the wode new, sing Cucoo, sing cucoo” with a diaphanous dewy curtain overall reminding one of a New Yorker magazine Iphone brush. I still like the writing.
September 4th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Beautiful poem. Well-crafted and original with vivid imagery.
September 5th, 2009 at 1:53 am
This is a beautiful poem. My feelings are that it would benefit from a stronger last line.
September 5th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Lyn,
I see interesting similarities with life in this writing.
“…her friends appear to join her once again in a chorus that,
they believe,
displaces the fading dirge…”. I know this a bit cynical but I have watched some people that truly believe they’re making a difference when, in all actuality, the event, like the transition from Winter to Spring, was predetermined to occur with or without the person’s assistance.
It does beg the question: if this is how spring naturally starts, how does it naturally yield the right of way to summer?
The other similarity I see is the natural progression through a profession or society, with some people reaching that “mystical” state of “highly respected”. We all start as stage hands, get our first acting role as the Chickadee and continue progressing through the strata to the Centaur’s level of “higly respected”. Yet the Centaur and his companions are not so high and mighty that they refuse to participate in the production with their apprentices. This, pershaps, is the greatest sign of respect.
To your credit, my friend, well crafted words enable me to see life in a writing. Well done.
September 5th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Lyndon – The artists taking an interest in Everyday Poets are extremely sensitive. One must be careful to be clear that “lesser brothers’ production” refers to Pegasi over horses, not actors over writers, directors, etc., or vice versa. Some might be worried that there are no speaking parts for actors. How about this noble poem spoken over a background of photographed animal emergence (trick photography acceptable) with a resounding final chorus of the entire production crew (as if it were the animals) singing “Sumer is a-comin in, Loude sing cucoo, sing cucoo, sing cucoo …”?
September 5th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Eric – Most people understand that the earth’s turning causes seasonal change and maybe the animals remember from one year to the next. But the animals, as do people join in celebration, in a chorus like a prayer of exhuberant praise.
September 5th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Thanks TJ, Blomily, Roberta, Melany, Carol, and Eric for your comments. Eric, I too see the beasts of myth and lore as our elders (or even perhaps our foundational myths and traditions that give shape and meaning to our contemporary lives) that still play a vital – though not upstaging – role in their lesser brothers’ time in the spot light (brother being an inclusive term to include all the creatures that live this side of those magical days of first creation). Lyn
September 5th, 2009 at 11:55 am
“magical beasts … of secret, benevolent power” fully expect, as do all who take apprentices, to share production with them. That’s the point of “apprentices.”
September 7th, 2009 at 8:41 am
I don’t know if it’s a matter of expectation – I’m hesitant to assign human motivations to these wondrous beings. Thanks again to all who commented. Lyn
September 9th, 2009 at 7:21 am
The word “apprentice” implies expected to work with the teacher. Otherwise another word such as simply, “teacher” or some other is used.
September 9th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Interesting interpretations. There are no apprentices in the poem, however. This was my personal gloss and comment in response to Eric.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Correction…Eric used the word apprentice. Sorry about that. Anyway, let’s move on.
Fun bit of info. This prose poem is actually the opening scene to an opening scene titled “The Sorrow of Raetheos” that came about from a visual prompt – both the picture and the rest of the scene are posted on my blog:
http://blogginoutloud.blogspot.com/2009/09/spring-finally-at-every-day-poets.html Enjoy! Lyn
September 11th, 2009 at 7:09 am
The poet has so well caught the all-inclusive joyousness of the ecologically religious celebration, but wisely has not forgotten to remind us that included in it is the panther, a potential danger to them all.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:01 am
[...] interview this month is with Lyndon Perry whose poem “Spring Finally” was much appreciated by our readers in September’s [...]