SPRING Poem by Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)
Spring air —
Woven moon
And plum scent.
PHOTO: Words with Wings, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TODAY
by BIlly Collins
If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze
that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house
and unlatch the door to the canary’s cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,
a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies
seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking
a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,
releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage
so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting
into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.
Photo by CT1967, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Billy Collins (born 1941) served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001-2003 and New York State poet from 2004-2006. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York City, where he has taught for over forty years.