Spring Games

by Bill Cavanaugh, Becketwood Member

Lest time be lost
In the risky spring,
It's hide-and-seek
With the sun and frost.

To run the risk
They all agree­—
The worm, the bird
The bud, the bee

The speedy squill
Is up and out
And waiting for
The daffodil.

A silent worm
Should hold his peace
And hope to land
A summer’s lease,

But he can’t resist
A look at the light
And rears his head
In the early mist.

Then the strung-out worm
Plays tug-of-war,
Not hide-and-seek,
With a robin's beak.

Then after a while
The hive grows warm
And the ice must sweat
As the workers swarm

In pollen dust;
But spring can play
A waiting game
And won't be rushed
Along its way.

So snowdrops droop while birds digest
The early worms in cozy nests.