Fishing in the Spring, the Pont de Clichy (Asnires) 1887 - Vincent van Gogh
Well, who doesn’t want the sun after the long winter? From “Spring” by Mary Oliver.
Within the poem “Spring,” Mary Oliver likens the coming of spring to the serpent emerging from his “winter-death” and searching for the sun. But, even more, his search for the sun is not simple or easy. This metaphor struck me. I have felt like that serpent, having been in a cave, unable to find that euphoric feeling of connecting to the world. I have waited and waited through the long winter, and now I am searching for the sun. This is because to me, poetry opens up the world, like spring. It brings color and extended light. It ushers in rebirth, growth, and fruitfulness.
Poetry has consistently been the light that I search for as I emerge from the dark, cold cavern of my mind. When I read poems that put feelings into words, it is illumination. Spring is nature’s manifestation of that experience. It is the reminder that although there has been a prolonged period of darkness, the long light also comes. With this reminder, poetry is the gift of clarity to capture and articulate all of the wonder this life holds.
Even now, the birds are singing their soft songs. The sun has not yet performed its graceful bow to the horizon. The day is longer. I find comfort in knowing that the world continues to open itself up to us. Our imaginations, the fertile grounds ripe for planting. Poetry is the budding garden.
It is during this time that I feel the most joyful and delighted. May poetry continue to tend to us and feed us new light, as spring does. May you, too, go about singing your soft songs. They are little gratitudes that we can give the earth for its promise of spring after the dark, cold cavern of winter. May poetry continue to help us emerge from ourselves.
Ebony Kenae (ekg) is a poet and writer who was born and raised in Paterson, NJ. Following her fascination with outer space, her poems center on what connects us to the seemingly grand and the ways in which we are little planets too. Her poems have appeared in Mixed Mag, Harness Magazine, and elsewhere. When she is not writing, she loves reading and sharing her thoughts on her Youtube channel and TikTok.