I had such a feeling of vitality as I awoke -
The sky was filled with blossom and birdsong
The shadows in the branches gone
The triumph over winter won
A tang of manure from the rose-beds by the Chelsea Royal
Freshly dug and waiting for the flowers of Spring
Men with scarlet blossom etched upon their cheeks
Calmly contemplating fertile graves
And along the dappled street a girl in green
Pushes on her scooter, followed by her gran
Alert, yet somehow sensing
The memory that is forming
That one day she will savour
When she herself is old
*
This afternoon we carried dad into the house
Stuttering pale and trembling like a new born lamb
Later on we walked along the River Ouse
Tidal water pulling over flint and chalk
In the sky a pale and valiant sun
Times falls out and lives becomes undone
Triumphs over winter never won