The First Green of Spring

I have a book of poems selected by Garrison Keillor. It was a Christmas gift that I find myself deeply thankful for with regularity. I read Good Poems last spring, quite a lot of it at a camp site back in Iowa with a warm fire at my feet and the sun slowly setting. The collection appeals to my sensibilities; one section is called "Work" and mostly has poems about the rewards of manual labor- farm life in particular. Keillor has a great intro where he explains what makes a "good poem" and says, "they offer us truer accounts than what we're used to getting. They surprise us with clear pictures of the familiar." The poems are often narrative, and emotional, and always delight in words. There's very little in Good Poems that makes me angry and a lot that makes me very happy. This first page I opened to when I set out to read just happened to have what has become my favorite of the collection. I bookmarked it and everything.

So I thought I'd see if I could find a suitable spring-y poem and share it here.

The First Green of Spring
David Budbill

Out walking in the swamp picking cowslip, marsh marigold,
this sweet first green of spring. Now sauteed in a pan melting
to a deeper green than ever they were alive, this green, this life,

harbinger of things to come. Now we sit at the table munching
on this message from the dawn which says we and the world
are alive again today, and this is the world's birthday. And

even though we know we are growing old, we are dying, we
will never be young again, we also know we're still right here
now, today, and my oh my! don't these greens taste good.


This is from the "Resurrection" section of the book. I particularly like the way that none of the lines end with a complete thought, but lead the reader into the next line, continually renewing and surging forward. Until the last line of the poem which dwells on a singular moment and finds contented enjoyment in the present, rather than thoughts of the future.

What do you all think?


P.S. my basil and tomato plants have sprouted!