March came in that winter like the meekest and mildest of lambs, bringing days that were crisp and golden and tingling, each followed by a frosty pink twilight which gradually lost itself in an elfland of moonshine.
~L.M. Montgomery
Crisp golden days sound good, and I'm all about pink twilights and magical moonlight. Did you know that Emily D wrote a welcoming poem for March?
TO MARCH.
by Emily Dickinson
Dear March, come in!
How glad I am!
I looked for you before.
Put down your hat —
You must have walked —
How out of breath you are!
Dear March, how are you?
And the rest?
Did you leave Nature well?
Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,
I have so much to tell!
I got your letter, and the birds';
The maples never knew
That you were coming, — I declare,
How red their faces grew!
But, March, forgive me —
And all those hills
You left for me to hue;
There was no purple suitable,
You took it all with you.
Who knocks? That April!
Lock the door!
I will not be pursued!
He stayed away a year, to call
When I am occupied.
But trifles look so trivial
As soon as you have come,
That blame is just as dear as praise
And praise as mere as blame.
**********
No Water River has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Renée!
18 comments:
Now I want to write a March poem myself. To the Canada Geese, just returned. Or the bomb-cyclone, storming like the Wicked Witch. A great post, thanks.
That playful Emily! I feel the same way about March: the doorway to the best part of the year. Have you heard about the new movie about, "A Quiet Passion"? I heard that Cynthia Nixon is extraordinary. Perhaps a movie date?
She writes her own tune, and it's always wonderful. Thanks, Tabatha, I love "elfland of moonshine", too!
I shake my head at how many Emily poems we did NOT study in school - I mean, how refreshing this one might have been. I'm glad to know it now.
Oh, I am so happy that March has decided to finally arrive!
Indeed! Welcome, March! Glad you made it! (I'll even welcome April when he gets here!
The last line is really interesting, both to pronounce and to ponder...
I love the enthusiastic welcome Emily gives March... me too me too! xo
I love how she talks to March about April...
And "The maples never knew
That you were coming, — I declare,
How red their faces grew!"
I'm with you on the "frosty pink twilights" and "elfland of moonshine." And I adore Emily Dickinson's conversation with March, which is certainly "out of breath" today!
We have some of those blushing maples in our yard this March! I haven't read (or don't remember) this letter to March by Emily. I love it!
I loved reading this new-to-me welcome to March. It reaffirms my stubborn insistence (based on scanty evidence!) that we have turned a corner toward spring."How out of breath you are!" feels especially apt today as March is huffing and puffing with wild winds shaking the windows in my old home. "Frosty pink twilight" and "elfland of moonshine" are magical!
I love Emily!
Love the Emily poem (new to me)! Love the Montgomery quote too (though I wouldn't call yesterday meek or mild in the least).
Lovely Emily Dickinson poem Tabatha, I had not read this one. I love the end of the L.M. Montgomery passage, "gradually lost itself in an elfland of moonshine." I think I'll keep my eyes out for some of that "moonshine," in the coming days, thanks!
How much nicer it would be to cheerfully greet each new month instead of regretting the quick passage of the one before. Here's to more hellos and fewer goodbyes!
I hadn't read this one before either, y'all. Charming, isn't it? If anybody uses it as a springboard, I'd love to see the result. Heidi, yes, I'd love to see the Emily Dickinson movie with you!
What a welcoming poem for my Birthday Month - March is my absolute favourite; signals that the first quarter of the year is over, but still so much to look forward to. :)
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