April

An altered look about the hills;
A Tyrian* light the village fills;
A wider sunrise in the dawn;
A deeper twilight on the lawn;**
. . .An added strut in chanticleer***;

A flower expected everywhere;
An axe singing in the wood;
Fern-odors on untraveled roads,
---All this, and more I cannot tell,
A furtive look you know as well,
And Nicodemus' mystery
Receives its annual reply.****
---Emily Dickinson, Book III [Nature], #49

*Tyrian Purple, a rich crimson or purple dye made in the ancient city of Tyre
**Spring changes the angle of light & the look of light, esp. at sunrise and sunset. The first part of the poem celebrates purplish April dawn & dusk hues.
***A rooster. Originally an older Middle English word coming from Old French, now used in poetic verse
****John 3:4. Nicodemus asks Jesus how a man can be "born again." In John 3:13-16, Jesus makes clear that rebirth and the accompanying eternal life come through Him being "lifted up" (crucified), which, itself, came from the Father's great love in sending Jesus.

The Crucifixion

Technically, this is a prose section, but Luther adds a poetic feeling: "Und es war schon um die sechste Stunde, und es kam eine Finsternis über das ganze Land bis zur neunte Stunde, und die Sonne verlor ihren Schein. . ." Luke 23:44-45a. Or, "It was already the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the entire area until the ninth hour. And the Sun lost its [her] shine. . ."