“Oh, to be in England, now that April’s there”
Who said that? If we really can’t remember, we can Google it, as we do almost everything nowadays. I just did, and it was Robert Browning.
Good morning everyone. Of course we’d love to be where cowslips and other lovely flowers are blooming, but they’re also a-bloom in California and anywhere in the world where we don’t have to swallow antihistamines for protection against loveliness.
“April, April, weep thy girlish laughter
Then a morning after
Weep thy girlish tears”
If you’ve heard of William Watson, you now have, because he’s the one who said that.
And, given what’s happening in the world right now, I find myself thinking of Thomas Hardy’s wonderful “The Man He Killed.”
These are some of the ways poetry heals – and renews — the soul. And if we memorize beloved poems, so much the better, because they have a way of popping into the mind when we least expect them
This is also why we don’t give you a new poet, complete with photograph, in April. It’s National Poetry Month here in the U.S., a time when we urge you to find poems you love – forgotten ones and perhaps some you love or have written yourselves. I suspect many readers of this column are poets – or would like to be.
And at times like these, poetry also helps to give us the fortitude for survival.
If you’re in an area where you can get out to shop, I hope you’ll visit your local bookstores (preferably independent ones) to at least browse, if not to buy. And don’t forget our wonderful public libraries!
And so, goodbye – and do try to have a joyful April, with maybe even a few good laughs.
–Irene Willis
Poetry Editor