Poems (Tree)/Ah! the Spring

by Iris Tree

AH! the spring,
Sudden, surprising,
Melting the iron scales around the heart
As the earliest sun
Melts the cold case of dew on leaves—
Ah! the streets like odorous rivers
Chanting the echoes of seas—
Ah! the flowers in shop-windows
Beseeching, persuasive,
Reluctant to let their beauty flow away
From thoughts that mirror them in passing—
Beautiful exiles
Fluttering in their chains,
Thrilled with the noise of bees,
The music of meadows
Still hovering around them—
Flower fingers, flower-touches,
Passional, reminiscent,
Rippling the soul's still waters—
Flower galaxies,
Enamelled bridges arching from dream to dream,
Garlands splashing over the eyes of satyrs,
The furtive woodland eyes,
The pointed inquisitive ears—
Pallid flowers foaming on hill-crests,
Gushing heavenwards
From a sea of stormy mountains—
Opening and shutting exquisite doors,
As the senses open to music,
Shut upon silence,
Open to beauty,
Close their caskets upon love—
Ah! the flowers in the windows,
Amorous of poets
Making a chaplet of song!

1919