Isolation Spring
written by: Caroline Gauld
Winter is letting go its grip
Spring not quite ready to catch it yet
Lemon sharp sunshine
Squeezes light through the rain
The earthy smell of fields freshly ploughed
And the peaty-sweet smoke amongst low lying cloud
Birds will soon return to nest
To hatch their chicks and help them fledge
Rounded bellies of ewes in lamb
Wandering pheasants that avoided the guns
Black swaying fringes on weeping willows
As patiently they await next season’s yellow
In the deepest cracks on the highest hills
Snow and ice linger still
March, beautiful, bleak, barren month
Heralds in Spring and her bountiful warmth
You flaunt your beauty in our face
Like ripening fruits we cannot taste
Catkins, lambs tails, pussy willows
Nature’s little flags are waving
Warm breezes won’t blow our bunting
Our festivals are all verbatim
Bluebells and primroses blossom and bloom
And a bright yellow coverlet brightens the broom
All the joy the wildflowers bring
Will be lost to most of us this Spring.
Little flocks of skipping lambs
Venture further from their mams
But isolated toddlers become shy,
Missing hugs from their grans.
Hatch your chicks and let them fly
While our children are cooped up inside.
Mountain paths, cycle tracks, country lanes
Are prohibited, patrolled, barricaded with chains.
Raptors fly-in on fishing trips
While our flights are cancelled, our wings clipped.
Cuckoo, cuckoo, could you
Sing a freedom song in May?
Signal the end of this Isolation Spring
And let us wander freely again.
- Foxy - May 8, 2021
- The Village Hall - February 22, 2021
- The True Meaning of Christmas - December 15, 2020
