Cape Cod Poetry: Spring inspires nature and poets
Spring is here, awakening the forsythia, crocuses and poets.
Many of this month's winning poems deal with some aspect of spring, from its annual awakening to one poet's desire to die in the season of rebirth ― but not for many seasons.
All seven poems have one thing in common ― they are all set in nature. It is an inspiration to step outside, take a walk, bathe your soul in the solitude of an empty forest and return renewed.
Yep, that's how nature works.
It can, at least temporarily, scrub your soul and leave you whistling a tune.
And there is no better place than Cape Cod and the Islands to wander in nature with all of its blessings.
Here are the April poets and their work:
A self-proclaimed "forever" resident of Cape Cod (Sagamore), Beth Ellis has had articles, columns, poems and essays published in numerous newspapers and magazines.
Inspiration for "SPRINGTIME ": It seems to me that the clash of Life and Death is never more apparent than in spring. Life conquers as the colorful, musical harbingers of renewal emerge to dominate over the dreary shroud of March. Castle? I was not born into royalty! Rather, the small private Worcester hospital where I was born was originally the stone mansion of a wealthy industrialist. To my eyes, it was a castle.
SPRINGTIME
By Beth Ellis
Oh, let me die in springtime
When the verdant grass appears,
When lady slippers pierce the earth
And birdsong fills my ears.
For I was born in winter
In a castle on a hill.
Snow was my first blanket;
Even now I feel its chill.
The fragrance of the summer’s flow’rs
Or autumn’s vibrant hues
Should tempt me to repose with them
Yet neither would I choose.
Oh, let me leave this tired world
When lush succeeds the bare;
Just let me die ― but not too soon!
When springtime’s in the air.
***
Joseph Lacroix is the author of "The Dunes on Sandy Neck Beach." For many summers, he has sailed with Bill Collins of Sandwich out of Monument Beach in his 22-foot Cape Dory.
Inspiration: Since retiring from a long teaching career, I enjoy walks along various beaches on the Cape. In the fall, when it's still warm and the tourists have left, my favorite place for solitude is taking long walks among the dunes at Sandy Neck. One particular visit inspired me to appreciate the simple beauty of the dunes, the wash of the waves coming ashore and the rest if offers me. I always return home with a deeper feeling of gratitude.
Dunes on Sandy Neck...
By Joseph LaCroix
The dunes,
They are but clouds
Thickened with sand
Sprouting whiskers from sea grass –
Scooped up and plopped here
In piles from the ladle held
By the wind, crafting as she does
What most delights her,
And with the consent of the ocean,
Her abiding accomplice engaged
In their ongoing task -
Providing soft wonderment
For my thirsting, tired self.
***
John Darretta of East Dennis, professor emeritus of American literature, is author of “Nature’s Wheel,” a 2020 collection of his poems.
On the Trail with Granny
by John L. Daretta
We’re off on our morning run
I’m stirring and on the go
You’re serene and rather slow
I’m sixteen; you’re sixty-one
You‘re granny; I’m the grandson
I’m all show and you’re all know
Yet together we will glow
Moving on our morning run
***
Stewart Pattison lives in Chatham.
Inspiration: A favorite walk for me in all seasons starts at Cockle Cove Beach to the inlet at Ridgevale; then behind the dunes along the estuary. On a recent walk in the late afternoon I was reminded that it is what is absent which allows the perception of what is there. It is silence which permits us to hear. It is the "empty" space which allows us to see. It is solitude which fosters true connection.
LATE AFTERNOON, COCKLE COVE
By Stewart Pattison
Truly to seek is
to follow a path which only
appears with each single step.
To listen for that which cannot be heard;
the infinitely disguised presence
which will elude all but the ultimately
unconcerned and unambitious.
For whom the deep quiet permits
hearing the gull cry; scenting
the briny breath of rotting sea greens;
as the sinking sun accents each cloud,
each blade of beach grass,
each variant stretch of sand
in meticulous and momentary uniqueness
never to be reproduced.
Like the footprints fated to disappear
on the next tide.
***
Carol Lucas lives in East Sandwich. She is an avid gardener and many of her poems reflect this.
Inspiration: Looking out over my sleeping gardens in late winter I realized that spring is always a season of hope for gardeners and for poets.
Backyard Bleakness
By Carol Lucas
Mostly bleak and empty-
The gardens are covered by brown leaf-
Leftovers of last year.
The stonewall tilts a bit
In an effort to hold on for
All that shelters beneath.
The bulbs of spring arise early
Fooled by a tide of unseasonable warmth.
They push up ― surprised by their own strength-
But needing a scarf of snow.
So many fallen branches
Some large, some small, lay helpless.
Bleakness
Looking up I find a patch of blue, blue sky
Rimmed in puffs of cotton white.
You appear-
Once again hurrying winter away.
Once again unearthing spring and
Surveying for survival.
Too many primroses have given up,
So many leaves.
They must have blown from across the street.
I see you leaning against the aged oak
Knowing that you will find the trowel, sharpen the shovel
Coax out beauty from the hardened earth.
You are bent, working carefully so as not to hurt
The woolly curled in winter sleep.
***
Debra Murphy lives in Centerville and is a member of the Steeple Street Poets.
Inspiration: One of my favorite things about spring on Cape Cod is the forsythia. I love to see the pop of color after it's been so gray and dreary.
Perched
By Debra Murphy
Like a lapis Buddha
the blue jay on the forsythia branch
sits among the yellow blossoms
that we waited for all the long, gray winter.
***
C. Desirée "Fin" Finley is a Harwich grad published in Willawaw Journal and elsewhere.
Inspiration: This poem is rooted in how we make peace with our failings as I have with my declining eyesight — we’re gentle with ourselves. Corneal issues add a grayness to my seeing, but I look instead at the ways I love gray; how it reminds me of art school, or my cat or how after I look at something bright a cloud stays with me remembering brightness.
I Stumble
By C.D. Finley
As the evening does
Shadows deepening
Moments clung
Stepping into the flat
Window of a threshold
Wherever darkness hides
There are so many shades of gray
We painted them as art students
Laying them out in little squares
I’ve always loved gray ― its pure smooth
Company, my cat, the rooms, the afternoon
In pixels after a bright thing
The persistence of it floating
A cape of soft edges
Beyond which I cannot see
But carry inside the shiny tin
How to submit a poem to the Cape Cod Times
Here’s how to send us your work:
Submit one poem single-spaced, of 35 lines or fewer per month
Poems cannot be previously published (in print or online).
Deadline for submission is May 1, 2023.
Submit by email to cctpoetry12@gmail.com.
Poems should be free of hate speech and expletives (profanity, vulgarity, obscenity).
In the body of the e-mail, send your contact information: name, address, phone number and title of poem; then, in a Word Doc attachment, include poem without name or any other personal info, so that the poem can be judged anonymously.
Poets not previously published in the Cape Cod Times are welcome to submit a new poem each month; those poets previously published in the Times, three months after publication.
Poets will be notified only if their poem is accepted. by our panel of judges.
Poems will be selected by a panel of readers on the Cape and Islands who are published poets and editors.
Keep connected with the Cape. Download our free app.
Countertop Spice Rack$17.99 - WAYFAIR|
6 Anti-Inflammatory Foods For Your Knee Hip And Back PainUpwellness|
Keurig K-Classic™ Coffee Maker - - Brewer Bundles Available - Black$99.99 - Keurig.com|
Chrissy Metz, 42, Shows Off Massive Weight Loss In Fierce New PhotoDaily Finance Stories|
Massachusetts Seniors Rave About This Genius Fungus SolutionWellnessGuide101.com|
A 80-year-old grandmother designed a bra for women that is popular all over Aailsa|
Read More
The Best Walking Sneakers For Women To Wear All Day Without Discomfort.Dotmalls|
Learn More
Deal of the Day
Recommended
Poll: Cinco de Mayo is coming so choose the best Cape Cod burritoNEWS
Dog Excessive Paw Licking: Mattapoisett Top Vet Says To Do This DailyUltimateDogFoodGuide.com|
People in Mattapoisett are Loving Martha Stewart's Meal KitMartha Stewart & Marley Spoon|
More Local Stories
Hollywood Magic, turning Chatham into Nantucket for filming "The Perfect Couple"NEWS
Sagamore Bridge construction traffic nightmareNEWS
FOR SUBSCRIBERSHyannis waterfront loses restaurant, will gain marine storageNEWS
Fishing and serving Jonah crab in Sandwich at the Fisherman's View RestaurantNEWS
5 Foods Damaging Your Liver And Causing Belly FatL Renew|
Learn More
The Best Walking Sneakers For Women To Wear All Day Without DiscomfortDotmalls|
Learn More
The Best Walking Sandals For Women To Wear All Day Without DiscomfortSursell|
Read More
Here Are 7 Legal Discounts Seniors Get Only If They AskSenior Discounts By National Penny|
More Local Stories
MA National Guardsman accused of Ukraine leak: What happened in courtNEWS
Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High Principal Paul Funk dies at 51NEWS
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod poets embrace season of renewal, even as a time to die
