A Prayer In Spring
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
~Robert Frost
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Very nice scenery (and poetry, of course)!
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Gorgeous photos and poem!
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In a nation crazed with anxiety about the "uncertain harvest" that lies ahead as a new crop of decisions begins to sprout and grow, these are good words, calming words.We do overestimate our place in the eternal scheme of things from time to time. The poets have a way of reminding us it's perfectly acceptable to stop remaking the world in our image and rejoice in what is.
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Oh! I need to tell you… My mother finished Ivan Doig's The Whistling Season and promptly said, "I need more of his books. As many as you can find…." I got her four at the library today. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to reading it myself!
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Linda, it makes me so happy that your mother liked The Whistling Season! I'm leading the discussion on it Wednesday night at one of our book clubs, and I'm so looking forward to what the other women have to say. Although, I can't imagine anything less than stellar praise. It's the only work of Doig's I've read, even though I own a paperback of his called Bucking The Sun.It's good to share books with our mothers. ;)Also, any words that can calm anxiety are the ones I want to dwell on as I know you do, too. Robert Frost has to be one of my favorite poets.
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Lovely poem and pictures. I like the way we used to say t0-day.
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I love the old fashioned language, too, Suko. In fact, I love to hear British people speak; not only is their articulation beautiful, but their grammar is almost always perfect. It's becoming a lost art here in the States, in my opinion, one I'm guilty of erring in myself.
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"…keep us here/All simply in the springing of the year."Oh, what that man could do with language. Oh, how easy he makes it sound, and oh how difficult it is to keep things simple. Thank you for this gorgeous poem, and for the equally gorgeous photographs that accompany it.
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I haven't met any British yet but I love them – their country, their beauty, their accent. And because Daniel Radcliffe and Tom Felton are Brits. Haha!
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Loved the photos and poem; perfect way to start my day; thanks
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Beautiful poem and gorgeous pictures! Spring was always so special to me when I lived in IN. The world was reborn. Not much of that going on down here in FL…I miss the seasons.
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Lovely photos. I live in NW IL, and the coming of spring really is inspiring.
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Ahh, you've had some gorgeous weather. It's been cool (cold, even) and a bit dreary here. The unappreciated side of spring, I keep telling myself as I miss the sun…
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I love the poem (Frost is a favorite), but the photos are absolutely gorgeous. Don't you just love those redbud trees?! It really does look like my neighborhood. 🙂
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Perfect pictures to go with that lovely poem!
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Our neighborhoods are so similar! I could swear our paths are one and the same. I love redbuds, but we don't have any on our property, just across the street by the river. I'm so glad I replaced my camera! It's not fancy, but I do love the little photgraphs that I can take and post.
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Aren't those trees gorgeous! All of our blossomed trees are full of leaves now but I went around awestruck for all of March gazing at our blooms. Spring is such a wonderful time of year, isn't it?
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