Orion Rising

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May 29, 2005

Green

Nothing is so beautiful as spring—
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
From "Spring" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Over the past two weeks, the dogs and I have lost our long views through the woods, replaced instead by leaves of beech and striped maple unfurling their summer standards -- even the tips of balsam fir have erupted into feathers of brilliant green, and the few white oak that thrive here have tentatively spread small leafy curls. Gazing off into the woods lately, I have found myself drawn toward these nearby leaves stretching out into the (finally) warming spring.

Although a bit behind more mild regions in this part of the world, our woods have burst upon spring with a well-watered vigor. Our walks often arc through the fields across the road, and today, I could hardly make a step without tromping on the cinque-feuille of a feral fraise. Even the much-maligned dandelion was a specular spectacle before the sun dried its dew-laden petals.

Orion, too, has found a renewed capacity for stretching himself on these sunny days -- after two weeks of nearly perpetual rain and cold, there are few who don't cherish at least a few moments in the sun.

As the leaves bring my own focus out from the periphery and toward more immediate concerns, Orion places himself squarely in the center of each day, and while accomplishing the necessary tasks of the day can sometimes prove a challenge, he reminds me of the real value of each moment in the day -- whether playing or reading together inside, laughing out loud together, or sitting quietly among the dandelions on the lawn as Orion touches his first real flower.

I measure myself
Against a tall tree.
I find that I am much taller,
For I reach right up to the sun,
With my eye...

From "Six Significant Landscapes" by Wallace Stevens

Posted by pavel at May 29, 2005 2:41 PM

Comments

Posted by: Gina at May 30, 2005 10:51 AM

Posted by: Melinda at June 5, 2005 3:52 PM