Q-Eye: 2 April 2010
Musings from the Quaker world
Oh to be in England now the winter’s doneJohn Linton, founder of the Quaker Universalist Group, who died aged 99 at his Oxford home last month, wrote poetry. Eye thought this one was perfect for the first week in April, especially after such a fierce winter.
April
This is meant for an April poem,
An ‘Oh! to be in England’ poem,
The sound of mowers in the garden,
The scent of mowings freshly scattered,
The get the boat out on the river,
The get the boots out on the mountain,
Song of birds in dawn-time chorus,
Song of bards at tavern evenings,
Stars of Bethlehem in woodlands,
Bright with violets and primrose,
Every April’s someone’s April,
Seen with different eyes from last year,
Heard with different ears from last year.
Thousand upon thousand Aprils,
Bringing countless intimations
Of the lovely world we live in,
If our eyes are only open,
If our ears will but perceive it.
From Athwart the Storm: prose and poems (1993), compiled and selected by Eleanor Nesbitt, York: William Sessions Ltd ISBN 1 85072 153 X
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