April

           For Merwin

My thoughts march far afield 

through Elysium’s lawns

sometimes sitting in the shade of palms

wandering beside willows

sometimes watching a sparkling stream

they hear a curlew's

quavering call 

across a moor

a pheasant
measures time

they type by touch

recall with words

what eyes have seen

what was not said

i'll not now hold a pencil to sketch
blue blackbird’s eggs 

near Bretanoux
or

bright daffodils 

sprouting from a cleft in an upland outcrop

hollowed by that timeless spring

sunlight slants through slats

dust speckles dry air

settles on a piano’s keyboard lid

spring rain falls vertical

splashing in the bird bath

there's a rainbow northeast

bright against grey clouds

fading into night

copyright © Dick Russell

              April, 2019