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Susan Mulder's avatar

I hope it's ok to respond with a poem? I loved this prompt...

I lift my eyes to the red tips

Of a vibrating Asa ready to burst,

Bow my head to the bundled Hellebore

Guarding the pathway to our wood,

And to the daffodils, who somehow manage to look surprised,

to be here, again,

I pledge my springy loyalty,

While breathlessly waiting,

Hand over heart,

For Fritillaria Imperialis to arrive

As newly leafed and lighted limbs,

Whisper their anthem overhead,

Sending squirrels and chipmunks rushing for cover,

I am called to kneel, in this mossy nation,

Where birdsong hails the hours,

To pledge allegiance,

to morning.

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Therese Broderick's avatar

I love the provocative claim of this 14-line poem: a nature poem can be voiced as a Whitmanesque rapture, a sacred prayer of thanksgiving to God, a Romantic projection, a scientific exploration, an ecological mandate … or, yes, it can even be a secular song of homeland loyalty.

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