Spring Music

Dame Nature’s orchestra lets loose

     O’er all the country wide;

The bluebird chirps the interlude,

     The robin close beside.

Andante movements fill the air

     From roof and barren tree,

While now and then Jim crow performs

     Cadenza harmony.

The farmer on the hillside bawls

     Unto his snail-like pair;

While honking geese play minor parts

     High octaves in the air.

The early auto down the road

     Brings in a thunderous bass;

While “rags ‘n’ bot’s” the chorus swells

     In every crowded place.

The lights grow dim – down in the marsh

     A thousand tree toads drone;

The bull frog on the water’s edge

     Performs his great trombone.

Along the garden wall Maria

     And Tom play discords sweet;

While pistol shots and muttered oaths

     Make Nature’s band complete.

April 4, ‘05

                              “rags ‘n’ bot’s” may refer to trash collectors, as in ‘rags and bottle shops’.