Ode to a Blade of Grass in April

-Gunther Hauk

New and new, and ever new

On dry souls like freshening dew

You glisten and shine

With emerald green

Bold blade reaching for the blue

Drinking light and

Fettering fleeting sylphs

Into bondage of substance.

You, trodden 'neath harsh cleats on fields of play,

Unappreciated when growth is abundant

And mower-charges soar high,

When pollen fills field - and watery eyes;

You, who quicken the heart's beat

When dandelions wink with golden eyes

At resentful suburbanites.

Yes, you! Image of life

Resurrected from dead of winter,

You feed beasts with bloating udder

So fat milk flows,

Feeding us all.

You bowed your head

Under the graceful, etheric step

Of the Great Gardener.

You emerald banner of life,

Let me tread lovingly on you

Who vowed to green with us,

Year after year -

Till the end of days.