Spring in the Garden

See how the wind grows greenly wild,
As joy creeps forth in every corner,
Flora dance their silken arms —
Heedless of my wants as they reel
In the bright music between the trees;
They tell me I am swimming here,
Step-by-step, beside each flower’s face.

For though the spring glints around,
Its radiance drowns sorrow in such ease,
I too desire time to hold and catch
This simple happiness, complete —
An anchor set among willow and pine
Where breath and joy become as bright
Pinwheels spinning into the breeze,
In that dance anew each year,
I gather all of your voices,
Amalgamed as one.

What this garden knows
Is how each dream,
Born but a moment once,
Still endures to visit us again.

• Louis MacNeice