La Primavera

  

Beautifully similar to Bottcelli’s La Primavera maidens,  Belle de Mai is  a celebration of the feminine Spring.  Yet this elegant creation by Marie-France is original and gorgeously haunting in its own way. It inspired me to write this month’s poem which is also called La Primavera.  My verse directly addresses this female persona of the season and defines her purpose and essence. Some may see her as an extension of the Biblical Song of Songs where she comes into the withered garden as a  handmaiden from the bower of King Solomon’s bride; and others may view her as a pagan nymph  restoring greenery to a muted world.. Either way, her sole purpose is to reawaken earth and reinvigorate the soul with hope and joy. Wearing a crown of lily of the valley and possessing  hair the color of wheat, she also serves as the forerunner of Summer and the promise of fruitful abundance.

You appear in the garden

somewhat pagan, poised to inspire.
Wheat from summer's field
is rolled in your hair.

Your crown of flowers

bursts into fragrance
like the  white plumage
of a swan.

 If you were to sing

it would not be words,
but the intonation
of river or stream --

cool water rippling, calling

fish to spawn, saplings to reach
higher, rainwater to nurse
root and vine,  dream and wish
that have been forced
to settle underground.

Handmaiden from the bower

of Solomon's bride --  naiad
from the nearest pool
in Arcadia,  What does it matter?

You come to reaffirm joy,

return what has been
stolen by ashes and dust.

Your head turns away

from the rude chill,
lilies with arched leaves dip
in the breath of the beholder.

A lighter sense of being

slips in, gives pure splendor
to the unseen.
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Note -- The beautiful artwork is by French artist, Marie-France Riviere.  More of her work can be seen at her online blog. Click here --
www.griviere.com/expo2000.