[more apropos to the colder climes; our spring came suddenly & summer's practically here!]
The Spring comes slowly up this way,
Slowly, slowly,
Under a snood* of hodden** grey.
The black and white for her array,
Slowly, slowly,***
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
Where is her green that was so gay?
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
Unto a world too sick for May,
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
Where are the lads that used to play?
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
She has no heart for holiday,
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
The trees are out in Heaven they say^.
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up our way.
---- Katherine Tynan***8; 1859-1931
*Snood: a mesh, cloth or yarn bag used for gathering up a woman's hair, especially a long mass of hair. (Often had the idea of keeping a woman's sexuality "hidden" or "protected." Here the author suggest that spring is too long hidden.)
**Hodden: coarse cloth worn by the peasants of Scotland. Hodden Grey was known for being worn by certain military regiments
***This poem is a bit somber, sober, even "down" for a spring poem. It reflects life in a more northern climate. Also, it reflects some the "zeitgeist" of our current times: seeing so many challenging things on so many fronts, waiting, hoping; waiting, ultimately, for Christ to return.
^A picture of the new life in heaven.
The Spring comes slowly up this way,
Slowly, slowly,
Under a snood* of hodden** grey.
The black and white for her array,
Slowly, slowly,***
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
Where is her green that was so gay?
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
Unto a world too sick for May,
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
Where are the lads that used to play?
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
She has no heart for holiday,
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up this way.
The trees are out in Heaven they say^.
Slowly, slowly,
The Spring comes slowly up our way.
---- Katherine Tynan***8; 1859-1931
*Snood: a mesh, cloth or yarn bag used for gathering up a woman's hair, especially a long mass of hair. (Often had the idea of keeping a woman's sexuality "hidden" or "protected." Here the author suggest that spring is too long hidden.)
**Hodden: coarse cloth worn by the peasants of Scotland. Hodden Grey was known for being worn by certain military regiments
***This poem is a bit somber, sober, even "down" for a spring poem. It reflects life in a more northern climate. Also, it reflects some the "zeitgeist" of our current times: seeing so many challenging things on so many fronts, waiting, hoping; waiting, ultimately, for Christ to return.
^A picture of the new life in heaven.
****Katharine Tynan (23 January 1859 – 2 April 1931) was
an Irish-born writer educated at St.
Catherine's, a convent school in Drogheda. Her poetry was first published in 1878. She met
and became friendly with the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1886. Hopkins' work is featured frequently in this blog.
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2 comments:
Slowly - but inevitably. We wait in confidence for the Lord's return!
True, true, David. I did wonder if this poem was also in reference to World War I? I could find a year published in an anthology, but not a year written.
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