I

 

            into the strenuous briefness

            Life:

            handorgans and April

            darkness, friends

            i charge laughing.

            Into the hair-thin tints

            of yellow dawn,

            into the women-coloured twilight

            i smilingly glide. I

            into the big vermilion departure

            swim, sayingly;

            (Do you think?) the

            i do, world

            is probably made

            of roses & hello:

            (of solongs and, ashes)

           

II

 

            O sweet spontaneous

            earth how often have

            the doting

                  fingers of

            prurient philosophies pinched

            and poked

            thee

            has the naughty thumb

            of science prodded

            thy

                  beauty       how

            often have religions taken

            thee upon their scraggy

            knees squeezing and

            buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive

            gods

                  but

            true

            to the incomparable

            couch of death thy

            rhythmic

            lover

                  thou answerest

            them only with

                  spring

           

III

 

            but the other

            day i was passing a certain

            gate       rain

            fell       as it will

            in spring

            ropes

            of silver gliding from sunny

            thunder into freshness

            as if god’s flowers were

            pulling upon bells of

            gold       i looked

            up

            and

            thought to myself       death

            and will You with

            elaborate fingers possibly touch

            the pink hollyhock existence whose

            pansy eyes look from morning till

            night into the street

            unchangingly       the always

            old lady sitting in her

            gentle window like

            a reminiscence

            partaken

            softly       at whose gate smile

            always the chosen

            flowers of reminding

           

IV

 

            in Just-

            spring       when the world is mud-

            luscious the little lame baloonman

            whistles       far       and wee

            and eddyandbill come

            running from marbles and

            piracies and it’s

            spring

            when the world is puddle-wonderful

            the queer

            old baloonman whistles

            far       and       wee

            and bettyandisbel come dancing

            from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

            it’s

            spring

            and

                  the

                  goat-footed

            baloonMan       whistles

            far

            and

            wee

           

V

 

            spring omnipotent goddess Thou

            dost stuff parks

            with overgrown pimply

            chevaliers and gumchewing giggly

            damosels Thou dost

            persuade to serenade

            his lady the musical tom-cat

            Thou dost inveigle

            into crossing sidewalks the

            unwary june-bug and the frivolous

            angleworm

            Thou dost hang canary birds in parlour windows

            Spring slattern of seasons

            you have soggy legs

            and a muddy petticoat

            drowsy

            is your hair your

            eyes are sticky with

            dream and you have a sloppy body from

            being brought to bed of crocuses

            when you sing in your whisky voice

            the grass rises on the head of the earth

            and all the trees are put on edge

            spring

            of the excellent jostle of

            thy hips

            and the superior

           

            slobber of your breasts i

            am so very fond that my

            soul inside of me hollers

                  for thou comest

            and your hands are the snow and thy

            fingers are the rain

            and your

            feet O your feet

            freakish

            feet feet incorrigible

            ragging the world