Poem 13 - "Spring Comes Late"

Spring Comes Late
Avigayil Rosensweig

Here's to boys playing Settlers of Catan
On Shabbos afternoon
The first scruff of manhood on their chins
Who flick dice with intensity
Build settlements of miniature wood
Their land, to grow and defend
Small enough to be encircled
By two thumbs and an index finger
The world yawns outside
A gaping, lurking wonder
Within these cardboard edges
Four brick are traded for grain

And to girls walking in pairs
Eyelids glittering with day-old makeup
Skirts swirl around their knees
Hair drifts against shoulder blades
As they stride, languid with the fullness of youth
Air sweet with the promise of honeysuckle
Voices perfume the air with eager thoughts
The trees, still bare, raise their arms
To a pale sky
The girls' hands flutter like leaves

The afternoons long
Middays golden and evenings blustery
The earth thawing, the sky blue-white
Green shoots latent beneath dirt
Furled buds swell on vines
Everything teetering, on edge--

Comments

  1. Professor MillerApril 21, 2018 at 4:10 PM

    I wrote my comments out inline using MS Word's track changes feature, so I am going to email you my comments. For now, know I am seeing a lot of subtle and impressive things in this poem. Check your email for more comments.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EliAzizollahoffApril 23, 2018 at 1:21 PM

    as i mentioned in class i absolutely love this poem and how it so beautifully sums up such a specific and beautiful time that i think we can all relate and also relate to that feeling of calm before the storm on a peaceful shabbat afternoon before having to return to the week and in the seasons turning to spring and in childhood before having to reach adulthood. the only line i wasnt fully clear on was "By two thumbs and an index finger" and as i mentioned in class i think it would be nice if there is a bit of an ominous lead up to the cut off at the end to get us ready for the fact that this calm is about to break

    ReplyDelete

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