Photo of daffodils in Spring.‘Ode to Spring’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society April 8, 2022 Poetry 32 Comments . Ode to Spring I see you in the rut of butting rams. __I hear you in the chirruping of chicks. I feel you in the frolic of the lambs. __I watch you in the snort and squeal and kicks Of peachy piglets latching on to lunch. __I sense you in the luscious, grassy lea— That beaming gleam of velveteen in green, __Where hungry hares tear tender tufts to munch, And gangly calves cavort to coos of glee __From flirty, loved-up doves who woo and preen. I breathe you in the fragrant floral wood __Where graceful swathes of bluebells dance in praise Of blazing rays where frigid Winter stood __With frosty airs—that chilly, ghostly gaze. Hurray to every bright and sprightly day! __You bless the barren sprawl of Mother Earth With bursting buds and butterflies and bees. __You light the way to Summer’s bold display With gifts of resurrection and rebirth. __Your Easter splendor rises on the breeze. When mists and mellow fruitfulness depart, __I’m lifted by your sylvan scenes within— Your verdant beauty blossoms in my heart. __Your budding wonder blooms beneath my skin. I revel in the vibrancy you bring. __My wishes wander buoyant as a cloud O’er vales and hills that spill with jocund thrills— __Your golden trumpets will my soul to sing. On dreary days I shrug off sorrow’s shroud __And float my boat on seas of daffodils. First published in Snakeskin Susan Jarvis Bryant has poetry published on Lighten Up Online, Snakeskin, Light, Sparks of Calliope, and Expansive Poetry Online. She also has poetry published in TRINACRIA, Beth Houston’s Extreme Formal Poems anthology, and in Openings (anthologies of poems by Open University Poets in the UK). Susan is the winner of the 2020 International SCP Poetry Competition, and has been nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 32 Responses Rohini April 8, 2022 Absolutely beautiful! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Thank you very much, Rohini. I’m glad you enjoyed my poetic nod to Spring. Reply Cynthia Erlandson April 8, 2022 Susan, you express the “vibrancy” that so many of us feel at this time of year. Reading this, I can truly sense the budding wonder blooming beneath your skin and blossoming within your heart (which are two of my favorite phrases from this poem, along with many more, such as “peachy piglets latching on to lunch” and “shrug off sorrow’s shroud”). “Your Easter splendor rises… ” right after the line that includes “resurrection”, is worthy of goose-bumps! And your slightly-subtle reference to Wordsworth’s “The Daffodils” is quite ingenious. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Cynthia, your perceptive comment is encouraging and beautiful. I’m always thrilled when those little details jump out at the discerning reader and bring the poem to life. Thank you very much for your appreciation. Reply Paul Freeman April 8, 2022 Amazing. I found myself reading in colour from, as Cynthia mentions, the ‘vibrancy’ of your verses. Equally amazing is how the quality of writing is sustained over three relatively long stanzas. Thanks for the read, Susan. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 I love the “reading in colour” observation. Thank you, Paul. Reply Brian Yapko April 8, 2022 Goodness, Susan! I mean that literally. A poem full of such goodness that it’s hard to know where to start. I’ll start with the sunny, hopeful mood this poem puts me in. All of your fine alliteration and internal rhyme and other poetic devices are used to brilliant effect to instill in the reader a sense of peace. More than peace. Pure joy. You certainly get, ahem, each word’s worth. But this is so much more than a poetic paean to Spring and nature. You use personification to great effect, although it’s a bit ambiguous at the start of who you are addressing (More on that in a minute.) You make a fascinating progression from observant action words in the first stanza – the creatures, the flora as well. Then you move from their actions to your own – breathing in the scents of the forest. Your center line of the second stanza (actually, the whole poem) is a clarion call of what this whole poem is about – Hurray to every bright and sprightly day! (Sprightly, of course, refers to the spirit. The Holy Spirit, perhaps?) This one line sentence’s placement is far from accidental. It is a subtle volta which leads us beyond the speaker’s eyes into her very soul. Concurrently, we move from the personification of Mother Nature into something much deeper – we finally realize that you are addressing the Creator of Nature. God is the true subject of your poem. This becomes explicit when we get to the reference to “Your” Easter. But wait, there’s more. Your third stanza then brilliantly brings the whole experience of beauty and meditation into your heart and soul and even under your skin so that you can always have Spring within you – and now that Spring has been amplified into a spiritual experience that is a beautiful thing indeed. The verdant beauty blossoming within even in dark times is to be cherished. It reminds me of the J.M. Barrie quote I once mentioned to you: “God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” Only you go further. This is not just about memory – it is about divine joy and holding onto it! Your invocation of Wordsworth is delightful and meditative and I love it. I love everything about this poem. It is a very special garden-path into Holy Week. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Brian, thank you so very much for your magnificent comment. You have the knack of delving beneath the surface of my work and revealing its quiet treasures. I am not usually this late with a reply. I’ve been away for a few days indulging myself in my other favorite pastime – photography. The absence of my input has brought about a very interesting conversation between you and Margaret which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. To answer one big question, the “you” I address is Spring… but, for me, there would be no Spring without our Maker, our Creator, the mastermind behind the miracle of this season. How could I then pass by the subjects of resurrection and rebirth without offering praise to the great sacrifice made, a sacrifice which led to wonders steeped in Spring-like splendor. You are right… Spring was “amplified into a spiritual experience…” (a perfect and beautiful observation). I also love your interpretation of my third stanza. It’s spot on, and J.M. Barrie’s quote; ““God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” sings to me. Brian, I’m thrilled you like the poem, and I’m thrilled with your observations. Thank you! Reply Sally Cook April 8, 2022 This poem evokes so much of what my mother showed me when I was a child, much of which has stayed with me for many years. I recall the huge bouquets of forsythia, listening to her read Wordsworth aloud; driving along the lake shore just to see “crowds of daffodils”. You have captured the life blood, the eternal essence of Spring. She would have loved you. Thanks for that. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Dearest Sally, I am over the moon that my poem has tapped into so many beautiful memories of your lovely mother and I’m thrilled that you had such a wonderful relationship with her… such memories are gleaming treasures that outshine any earthly gem. I know I would have loved your mother, and to hear that she would have loved me has filled my heart with joy. Thank you, my much-loved friend. Reply Joseph S. Salemi April 8, 2022 The poem is everything that Brian says it is, especially in the first stanza: That beaming gleam of velveteen in green Where hungry hares tear tender tufts to munch, And gangly calves cavort to coos of glee From flirty, loved-up doves who woo and preen. This language hits you with vision and audio at the same time. But what is truly nice is that Susan uses the pronouns “you” and “your” throughout the piece, so that we can imagine a personified “Spring” rather than be stuck with a mere seasonal abstraction. In this poem she is REAL, just as Maia and Persephone were real female figures in ancient mythology. Spring is a lovely young goddess whose light breath and steps make the world explode with fertility and freshness. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Joe, I always appreciate your eye for fine detail. I love the musicality of language… I marvel at how the right combination of words can create the joy of a song. I smiled when I wrote the very words you have picked out and that is exactly why I write… for the joy it gives me. I am glad that joy has spread to others. Reply C.B. Anderson April 8, 2022 You have certainly captured the mood down to the last pixel and phoneme, Susan, but unfortunately for me spring just hollers “Get off your ass and get back to work.” This year we have a pair of House Finches nesting in a corner of the awning over our back stoop, and they seem a bit distressed by the monsters (us) that come and go through their living space. Actually I don’t mind spring at all, especially when I get to see the result of all the bulbs I have planted over the years. As I understand things, where you live only a very limited number of types of Narcissus will do well, but I’m sure that there are other compensations in your climatic zone. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 C.B., I love your gardener’s view of Spring. What an absolute nightmare she can be! Thank you for your dedication to beauty. Your reaction to my poem reminds me of my love of mockingbirds… until I got a peach tree. Texas is tough on Spring flowers. If one wants to be a slave to irrigation and doesn’t mind a sky-high water bill, petunias, begonias, tulips, impatiens, marigolds etc. will survive, but I’m more inclined to embrace the climate and opt for a cactus bed. Cacti produce beautiful flowers and need very little care. I love Spring in England… the bluebell woods are fragrant seas of sapphire wonder and the crocuses, daffodils etc. are a spectacle to behold. I didn’t think Texas could match that memory. It can and has. Carpets of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, pink evening primroses, prairie verbenas, Mexican hats, white poppies, sunflowers and more litter the fields, and I have just returned from a wonderful time photographing them. I feel at home here in Texas. 🙂 Reply Shaun C. Duncan April 9, 2022 “Peachy piglets” is the most wonderful phrase I’ve read in a long time. The musicality of your work is always a delight and this time you’ve really captured the uplifting mood of Spring and crafted an original and satisfying poem on a subject matter which could easily become trite in lesser hands. My only gripe is that we’re heading into Autumn down here. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Thank you very much for your lovely comment, Shaun. I don’t know much about Autumn in Australia… but, if it’s anything like a Texas Autumn, it’s still hotter than hell without the fabulous flare of flame-coloured leaves. Reply James A. Tweedie April 9, 2022 “Hurray to every bright and sprightly day!” Susan, You simply could not prevent your enthusiasm from exploding into your poem, could you! Just as spring cannot keep itself from “busting out all over.” I think that the word “Ode” does not capture the spirit of the poem at all–it is far to stuffy and formal–which is, of course, everything your poem is NOT! I think that calling it a “Paeon to Spring,” suits it far better! Thanks for throwing spring all over my day like pixie dust. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 James, thank you for your observations… I wrestled over the title and decided to go with the traditional, rather stuffy “ode” as the poem is in keeping with this form. I hope its joy gives the dusty ode a fresher feel… it’s in need of a revival. I’m glad you felt the benefit of that pixie dust… I’m hoping to produce more of it in the future. Reply Jeff Eardley April 9, 2022 Susan, you have excelled yourself. This is so uplifting and I hope you don’t mind it being circulated on our local arts and music page. You are getting quite a fan base over here, awaiting, as ever the anthology. It’s hard to pick out a favourite line when I love all of it but the snort and squeal of peachy piglets is delightful. Thank you so much. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Jeff, I’m thrilled my poem is getting a wider audience via your local arts and music page – it’s an absolute honour. I’m working on my own book at the moment. It’s coming along slowly but surely. As ever, thank you very much for your encouragement and your appreciation of my poetry. It means a lot! Reply Norma Pain April 9, 2022 Thank you Susan for this wonderful spring into Spring. It is an amazing poem for my favorite time of year. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Norma, I love Spring and Autumn. I’m glad my appreciation for this magnificent season has rubbed off through my words. Thank you! Reply Margaret Coats April 9, 2022 Susan, this is a lovely ode, and you may know that your chosen form (3 stanzas with rhyme scheme ababcdecde in each) is called the English ode. Odes in English show considerable variation in style and subject, and I think James Tweedie’s objection to “Ode” as your title is unjustified. He is probably thinking of the common expectation that an ode will feature serious tone, elevated diction, and classical allusion. Even those characteristics do not necessarily make an ode stuffy. But you have done what many ode writers in English have done, by making the tone become more obviously serious as the poem proceeds. You move from rams in rut to golden trumpets. As for diction, we do not ordinarily use “tender tufts” to describe what hares eat, and then there are “graceful swathes” in the second stanza, and a number of poetic words in the third: “verdant,” “sylvan,” and “jocund.” This is elevated diction suited to the topic–and you also reveal intense emotion suited to that topic, which is another feature of the ode. So is a certain focus on the power of the poet (your point of arrival in this poem). We easily notice literary allusion to Wordsworth, and Joseph Salemi has pointed out your use of personification as the effective equivalent of classical allusion. He spoke only of the personification of Spring, but we also see Winter, Summer, and Mother Earth. The two main types of classical ode are named for the Greek poet Pindar and the Roman poet Horace. Pindaric odes are the ones likely to have elaborate stanza shapes with varying line length and intricate rhyme schemes. They may be solemn poems meant as speeches for important occasions. A Horatian ode like yours tends to be composed of regular stanzas, and may be a more contemplative or philosophical piece. I wouldn’t call this poem a paean. In my teaching about the several names for poems of praise, “paean” is the highest kind, reserved for praise of God or of divine things. I believe the word first occurs in the Iliad, when the Greeks find they have offended Apollo and thus brought plague on their army. To correct matters, they offer a paean of solemn praise to Apollo as the healer god. Although Dr. Salemi rightly says you treat Spring as a lovely goddess, your poem mixes praise, description, and meditation in a lighter mode than that of a classic paean. The religious touches are important, but here you create a finely-spoken ode that is both personal to you, and accessible to readers of varied beliefs and thoughts about God and Spring. Reply Brian Yapko April 9, 2022 Margaret, are you certain this poem is not directed to God? I read this as a progression from the personification of Nature in the first half of the poem to the divine Creator of Nature as a direct address to God in the second half. That’s how I interpreted the “gifts of resurrection and rebirth,” “Your Easter splendor…” as well as the reference to the trumpets, which I assumed were the trumpets of Heaven’s angels. The spiritual gifts described in Stanza 3 struck me as deeper than delightful memories of nature. I do sometimes tend to read more into texts than was intended, so if I’m wrong, I stand corrected. Reply Margaret Coats April 10, 2022 Brian, I read the entire poem as addressed TO Spring, which is what the title indicates. It is written in the second person, and if “you” is God throughout, then Spring is God. The Creator is identified with His creation. I see the gifts of resurrection and rebirth as Spring’s gifts in the natural order. I see the golden trumpets as those of daffodils, present in the speaker’s memory in the final stanza. You can argue there that the daffodils cannot WILL the poet to sing. But then neither can the trumpets of the angels in heaven. You know that, and therefore you interpret the will of the heavenly trumpets as God’s will. But why cannot the will of the daffodil trumpets be that of God? Or why cannot their beauty inspire the poet’s song, and will it in that manner? I am very happy to tell you that both our interpretations are valid. And Susan’s intent does not matter. Once she lets others hear this poem, any interpretation is valid if it can be supported by her words–whatever she intended them to say. I look at this poem as an English ode of the Horatian variety because I am interested in how it fits into the larger context of literature. I do not see it as paean addressed to God, even though it has beautiful religious touches suggested by Easter’s occurrence in springtime. For examples of paean, see Psalms 62 and 146. Susan’s poem is a different kind of lyric. But you who are an enthusiastic reader wanting to focus more strongly on the spiritual elements of this poem can do so. You do indicate that you find ambiguity regarding the addressee. It’s there. There are possibilities for misinterpretation that would need to be corrected. For example, someone might read the poem and find golden trumpets like the ones he sees in a symphony hall. That’s a mistake. But beyond errors like that, there is great freedom of interpretation for readers of any poem. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Margaret, I am delighted to receive your educative response to my poem. I am intrigued by odes, and your comments on previous odes I’ve written have propelled me forward on the ode front. One of my favorites is Keats’ “Ode to Autumn”… I’ve given his work a nod in the opening line of my third stanza. As you know by now, I’m a fan of elevated language, and what a wonderful form to showcase it. Your mention of the contemplative / philosophical nature of this form intrigues me. I often think of poetry as a condensed form of philosophy… a beautiful, bite-sized piece of the bigger picture and I’m beginning to learn this form may be the vehicle for this type of thinking. I’m now going to move on to your answer to Brian below. I have learned something invaluable from these words: “Susan’s intent does not matter. Once she lets others hear this poem, any interpretation is valid if it can be supported by her words–whatever she intended them to say.” The fact that the poem has its own life regardless of the author’s intent is liberating. I have studied English Literature, but often, I cannot comment with confidence on the poetry on this site… from here on in, I’ll give it a go. Thank you, Margaret. It’s a real privilege to have you here. Reply Brian Yapko April 10, 2022 Margaret. How right you are! Thank you for this. I hope you have a wonderful Palm Sunday! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Brian, thank you for passion – your conversation with Margaret has given me a greater insight, and for that I am wholly grateful. Reply Joseph S. Salemi April 12, 2022 Far be it from me to deny a general freedom of interpretation to individual readers, but I must register a protest here, if only a muted one. There is such a thing as a mistaken interpretation of a poem. It happens all the time. The meaning of a poem is not up for grabs in the sense that “anything goes.” Susan’s “Ode to Spring” is in a definite tradition, as Margaret points out: the Horatian ode, especially as taken into English by Andrew Marvell. And in this instance Susan has definitely imagined Spring as a feminine personification in the manner of the Roman Flora, or the Greek Maia and Persephone. There’s even a “Mother Earth” (i.e Gaia or Demeter) in line 16. This became standard in Western poetry many centuries ago, when we decided that references to pagan divinities and their qualities were perfectly acceptable even when we no longer believed in them. For these reasons I resist reading the piece through any kind of specifically Christian lens. Just because it contains the words “resurrection,” “rebirth,” and “Easter” doesn’t mean that it has some scriptural significance. Poems don’t exist merely as occasions of devotionalism, where they are understood as pious reflections of what we hear from pulpits. Of course if someone wants to read a poem in that sectarian manner, that’s fine. But telling them that it’s OK to do that because it’s good for their soul is carrying evangelism too far. Communists read every good poem as a reflection of the class struggle. In the fifteenth century a writer tried to interpret Ovid’s Amores and Ars Amatoria as poems of high praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Freedom of interpretation is good, but turning everything that you happen to like into a confirmation of your dogmatic convictions is unprofessional. Reply Brian Yapko April 13, 2022 Joseph, thank you for this. I don’t know if this comment is directed to me, but I certainly find it applicable to my misreading of a critical aspect of Susan’s poem and so I, for one, stand corrected. Susan’s “Your Easter” and “resurrection” references are what most made me think that the address to Spring in the first part of the poem had been elevated to God in the second half. The words sounded Christian to my Jewish-raised ears. While ignorance is a poor excuse, I can’t claim great familiarity with the literary tradition behind this type of ode and, had I the requisite historical background, I would have been less inclined to make the error. You are also very right in observing that poems do not and should not exist solely for devotionalism. I, for one, enjoy seeing it when it’s there — primarily because I despise atheism in all of its form. But, speaking for myself, I have enjoyed reading and have written a large number of poems in which piety is quite irrelevant. I did, for example, greatly enjoy your Proverbial Uptight Librarian poem. And I could not agree more with the idea that “turning everything that you happen to like into a confirmation of your dogmatic convictions is unprofessional.” As for myself, despite temptation, my law background of 35 years leads me (as best I can) to focus on reviewing where the evidence leads without cherry-picking or projecting wishful thinking onto whatever poem, statute or witness statement I read. I’m sure I fall short but it’s not from want of trying to be objective. Reply John Watts April 18, 2022 A very well accomplished ode I will add amongst the praise– for me the poem works better without being seen through the Christian lens, as Joseph mentions, which I think distracts from the poem being a wonderful devotion and admiration of the springtime. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant May 7, 2022 Thank you very much, John. I appreciate your views. 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Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Thank you very much, Rohini. I’m glad you enjoyed my poetic nod to Spring. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson April 8, 2022 Susan, you express the “vibrancy” that so many of us feel at this time of year. Reading this, I can truly sense the budding wonder blooming beneath your skin and blossoming within your heart (which are two of my favorite phrases from this poem, along with many more, such as “peachy piglets latching on to lunch” and “shrug off sorrow’s shroud”). “Your Easter splendor rises… ” right after the line that includes “resurrection”, is worthy of goose-bumps! And your slightly-subtle reference to Wordsworth’s “The Daffodils” is quite ingenious. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Cynthia, your perceptive comment is encouraging and beautiful. I’m always thrilled when those little details jump out at the discerning reader and bring the poem to life. Thank you very much for your appreciation. Reply
Paul Freeman April 8, 2022 Amazing. I found myself reading in colour from, as Cynthia mentions, the ‘vibrancy’ of your verses. Equally amazing is how the quality of writing is sustained over three relatively long stanzas. Thanks for the read, Susan. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 I love the “reading in colour” observation. Thank you, Paul. Reply
Brian Yapko April 8, 2022 Goodness, Susan! I mean that literally. A poem full of such goodness that it’s hard to know where to start. I’ll start with the sunny, hopeful mood this poem puts me in. All of your fine alliteration and internal rhyme and other poetic devices are used to brilliant effect to instill in the reader a sense of peace. More than peace. Pure joy. You certainly get, ahem, each word’s worth. But this is so much more than a poetic paean to Spring and nature. You use personification to great effect, although it’s a bit ambiguous at the start of who you are addressing (More on that in a minute.) You make a fascinating progression from observant action words in the first stanza – the creatures, the flora as well. Then you move from their actions to your own – breathing in the scents of the forest. Your center line of the second stanza (actually, the whole poem) is a clarion call of what this whole poem is about – Hurray to every bright and sprightly day! (Sprightly, of course, refers to the spirit. The Holy Spirit, perhaps?) This one line sentence’s placement is far from accidental. It is a subtle volta which leads us beyond the speaker’s eyes into her very soul. Concurrently, we move from the personification of Mother Nature into something much deeper – we finally realize that you are addressing the Creator of Nature. God is the true subject of your poem. This becomes explicit when we get to the reference to “Your” Easter. But wait, there’s more. Your third stanza then brilliantly brings the whole experience of beauty and meditation into your heart and soul and even under your skin so that you can always have Spring within you – and now that Spring has been amplified into a spiritual experience that is a beautiful thing indeed. The verdant beauty blossoming within even in dark times is to be cherished. It reminds me of the J.M. Barrie quote I once mentioned to you: “God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” Only you go further. This is not just about memory – it is about divine joy and holding onto it! Your invocation of Wordsworth is delightful and meditative and I love it. I love everything about this poem. It is a very special garden-path into Holy Week. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Brian, thank you so very much for your magnificent comment. You have the knack of delving beneath the surface of my work and revealing its quiet treasures. I am not usually this late with a reply. I’ve been away for a few days indulging myself in my other favorite pastime – photography. The absence of my input has brought about a very interesting conversation between you and Margaret which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. To answer one big question, the “you” I address is Spring… but, for me, there would be no Spring without our Maker, our Creator, the mastermind behind the miracle of this season. How could I then pass by the subjects of resurrection and rebirth without offering praise to the great sacrifice made, a sacrifice which led to wonders steeped in Spring-like splendor. You are right… Spring was “amplified into a spiritual experience…” (a perfect and beautiful observation). I also love your interpretation of my third stanza. It’s spot on, and J.M. Barrie’s quote; ““God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” sings to me. Brian, I’m thrilled you like the poem, and I’m thrilled with your observations. Thank you! Reply
Sally Cook April 8, 2022 This poem evokes so much of what my mother showed me when I was a child, much of which has stayed with me for many years. I recall the huge bouquets of forsythia, listening to her read Wordsworth aloud; driving along the lake shore just to see “crowds of daffodils”. You have captured the life blood, the eternal essence of Spring. She would have loved you. Thanks for that. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Dearest Sally, I am over the moon that my poem has tapped into so many beautiful memories of your lovely mother and I’m thrilled that you had such a wonderful relationship with her… such memories are gleaming treasures that outshine any earthly gem. I know I would have loved your mother, and to hear that she would have loved me has filled my heart with joy. Thank you, my much-loved friend. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi April 8, 2022 The poem is everything that Brian says it is, especially in the first stanza: That beaming gleam of velveteen in green Where hungry hares tear tender tufts to munch, And gangly calves cavort to coos of glee From flirty, loved-up doves who woo and preen. This language hits you with vision and audio at the same time. But what is truly nice is that Susan uses the pronouns “you” and “your” throughout the piece, so that we can imagine a personified “Spring” rather than be stuck with a mere seasonal abstraction. In this poem she is REAL, just as Maia and Persephone were real female figures in ancient mythology. Spring is a lovely young goddess whose light breath and steps make the world explode with fertility and freshness. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Joe, I always appreciate your eye for fine detail. I love the musicality of language… I marvel at how the right combination of words can create the joy of a song. I smiled when I wrote the very words you have picked out and that is exactly why I write… for the joy it gives me. I am glad that joy has spread to others. Reply
C.B. Anderson April 8, 2022 You have certainly captured the mood down to the last pixel and phoneme, Susan, but unfortunately for me spring just hollers “Get off your ass and get back to work.” This year we have a pair of House Finches nesting in a corner of the awning over our back stoop, and they seem a bit distressed by the monsters (us) that come and go through their living space. Actually I don’t mind spring at all, especially when I get to see the result of all the bulbs I have planted over the years. As I understand things, where you live only a very limited number of types of Narcissus will do well, but I’m sure that there are other compensations in your climatic zone. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 C.B., I love your gardener’s view of Spring. What an absolute nightmare she can be! Thank you for your dedication to beauty. Your reaction to my poem reminds me of my love of mockingbirds… until I got a peach tree. Texas is tough on Spring flowers. If one wants to be a slave to irrigation and doesn’t mind a sky-high water bill, petunias, begonias, tulips, impatiens, marigolds etc. will survive, but I’m more inclined to embrace the climate and opt for a cactus bed. Cacti produce beautiful flowers and need very little care. I love Spring in England… the bluebell woods are fragrant seas of sapphire wonder and the crocuses, daffodils etc. are a spectacle to behold. I didn’t think Texas could match that memory. It can and has. Carpets of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, pink evening primroses, prairie verbenas, Mexican hats, white poppies, sunflowers and more litter the fields, and I have just returned from a wonderful time photographing them. I feel at home here in Texas. 🙂 Reply
Shaun C. Duncan April 9, 2022 “Peachy piglets” is the most wonderful phrase I’ve read in a long time. The musicality of your work is always a delight and this time you’ve really captured the uplifting mood of Spring and crafted an original and satisfying poem on a subject matter which could easily become trite in lesser hands. My only gripe is that we’re heading into Autumn down here. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Thank you very much for your lovely comment, Shaun. I don’t know much about Autumn in Australia… but, if it’s anything like a Texas Autumn, it’s still hotter than hell without the fabulous flare of flame-coloured leaves. Reply
James A. Tweedie April 9, 2022 “Hurray to every bright and sprightly day!” Susan, You simply could not prevent your enthusiasm from exploding into your poem, could you! Just as spring cannot keep itself from “busting out all over.” I think that the word “Ode” does not capture the spirit of the poem at all–it is far to stuffy and formal–which is, of course, everything your poem is NOT! I think that calling it a “Paeon to Spring,” suits it far better! Thanks for throwing spring all over my day like pixie dust. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 James, thank you for your observations… I wrestled over the title and decided to go with the traditional, rather stuffy “ode” as the poem is in keeping with this form. I hope its joy gives the dusty ode a fresher feel… it’s in need of a revival. I’m glad you felt the benefit of that pixie dust… I’m hoping to produce more of it in the future. Reply
Jeff Eardley April 9, 2022 Susan, you have excelled yourself. This is so uplifting and I hope you don’t mind it being circulated on our local arts and music page. You are getting quite a fan base over here, awaiting, as ever the anthology. It’s hard to pick out a favourite line when I love all of it but the snort and squeal of peachy piglets is delightful. Thank you so much. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Jeff, I’m thrilled my poem is getting a wider audience via your local arts and music page – it’s an absolute honour. I’m working on my own book at the moment. It’s coming along slowly but surely. As ever, thank you very much for your encouragement and your appreciation of my poetry. It means a lot! Reply
Norma Pain April 9, 2022 Thank you Susan for this wonderful spring into Spring. It is an amazing poem for my favorite time of year. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Norma, I love Spring and Autumn. I’m glad my appreciation for this magnificent season has rubbed off through my words. Thank you! Reply
Margaret Coats April 9, 2022 Susan, this is a lovely ode, and you may know that your chosen form (3 stanzas with rhyme scheme ababcdecde in each) is called the English ode. Odes in English show considerable variation in style and subject, and I think James Tweedie’s objection to “Ode” as your title is unjustified. He is probably thinking of the common expectation that an ode will feature serious tone, elevated diction, and classical allusion. Even those characteristics do not necessarily make an ode stuffy. But you have done what many ode writers in English have done, by making the tone become more obviously serious as the poem proceeds. You move from rams in rut to golden trumpets. As for diction, we do not ordinarily use “tender tufts” to describe what hares eat, and then there are “graceful swathes” in the second stanza, and a number of poetic words in the third: “verdant,” “sylvan,” and “jocund.” This is elevated diction suited to the topic–and you also reveal intense emotion suited to that topic, which is another feature of the ode. So is a certain focus on the power of the poet (your point of arrival in this poem). We easily notice literary allusion to Wordsworth, and Joseph Salemi has pointed out your use of personification as the effective equivalent of classical allusion. He spoke only of the personification of Spring, but we also see Winter, Summer, and Mother Earth. The two main types of classical ode are named for the Greek poet Pindar and the Roman poet Horace. Pindaric odes are the ones likely to have elaborate stanza shapes with varying line length and intricate rhyme schemes. They may be solemn poems meant as speeches for important occasions. A Horatian ode like yours tends to be composed of regular stanzas, and may be a more contemplative or philosophical piece. I wouldn’t call this poem a paean. In my teaching about the several names for poems of praise, “paean” is the highest kind, reserved for praise of God or of divine things. I believe the word first occurs in the Iliad, when the Greeks find they have offended Apollo and thus brought plague on their army. To correct matters, they offer a paean of solemn praise to Apollo as the healer god. Although Dr. Salemi rightly says you treat Spring as a lovely goddess, your poem mixes praise, description, and meditation in a lighter mode than that of a classic paean. The religious touches are important, but here you create a finely-spoken ode that is both personal to you, and accessible to readers of varied beliefs and thoughts about God and Spring. Reply
Brian Yapko April 9, 2022 Margaret, are you certain this poem is not directed to God? I read this as a progression from the personification of Nature in the first half of the poem to the divine Creator of Nature as a direct address to God in the second half. That’s how I interpreted the “gifts of resurrection and rebirth,” “Your Easter splendor…” as well as the reference to the trumpets, which I assumed were the trumpets of Heaven’s angels. The spiritual gifts described in Stanza 3 struck me as deeper than delightful memories of nature. I do sometimes tend to read more into texts than was intended, so if I’m wrong, I stand corrected. Reply
Margaret Coats April 10, 2022 Brian, I read the entire poem as addressed TO Spring, which is what the title indicates. It is written in the second person, and if “you” is God throughout, then Spring is God. The Creator is identified with His creation. I see the gifts of resurrection and rebirth as Spring’s gifts in the natural order. I see the golden trumpets as those of daffodils, present in the speaker’s memory in the final stanza. You can argue there that the daffodils cannot WILL the poet to sing. But then neither can the trumpets of the angels in heaven. You know that, and therefore you interpret the will of the heavenly trumpets as God’s will. But why cannot the will of the daffodil trumpets be that of God? Or why cannot their beauty inspire the poet’s song, and will it in that manner? I am very happy to tell you that both our interpretations are valid. And Susan’s intent does not matter. Once she lets others hear this poem, any interpretation is valid if it can be supported by her words–whatever she intended them to say. I look at this poem as an English ode of the Horatian variety because I am interested in how it fits into the larger context of literature. I do not see it as paean addressed to God, even though it has beautiful religious touches suggested by Easter’s occurrence in springtime. For examples of paean, see Psalms 62 and 146. Susan’s poem is a different kind of lyric. But you who are an enthusiastic reader wanting to focus more strongly on the spiritual elements of this poem can do so. You do indicate that you find ambiguity regarding the addressee. It’s there. There are possibilities for misinterpretation that would need to be corrected. For example, someone might read the poem and find golden trumpets like the ones he sees in a symphony hall. That’s a mistake. But beyond errors like that, there is great freedom of interpretation for readers of any poem. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Margaret, I am delighted to receive your educative response to my poem. I am intrigued by odes, and your comments on previous odes I’ve written have propelled me forward on the ode front. One of my favorites is Keats’ “Ode to Autumn”… I’ve given his work a nod in the opening line of my third stanza. As you know by now, I’m a fan of elevated language, and what a wonderful form to showcase it. Your mention of the contemplative / philosophical nature of this form intrigues me. I often think of poetry as a condensed form of philosophy… a beautiful, bite-sized piece of the bigger picture and I’m beginning to learn this form may be the vehicle for this type of thinking. I’m now going to move on to your answer to Brian below. I have learned something invaluable from these words: “Susan’s intent does not matter. Once she lets others hear this poem, any interpretation is valid if it can be supported by her words–whatever she intended them to say.” The fact that the poem has its own life regardless of the author’s intent is liberating. I have studied English Literature, but often, I cannot comment with confidence on the poetry on this site… from here on in, I’ll give it a go. Thank you, Margaret. It’s a real privilege to have you here. Reply
Brian Yapko April 10, 2022 Margaret. How right you are! Thank you for this. I hope you have a wonderful Palm Sunday! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant April 11, 2022 Brian, thank you for passion – your conversation with Margaret has given me a greater insight, and for that I am wholly grateful. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi April 12, 2022 Far be it from me to deny a general freedom of interpretation to individual readers, but I must register a protest here, if only a muted one. There is such a thing as a mistaken interpretation of a poem. It happens all the time. The meaning of a poem is not up for grabs in the sense that “anything goes.” Susan’s “Ode to Spring” is in a definite tradition, as Margaret points out: the Horatian ode, especially as taken into English by Andrew Marvell. And in this instance Susan has definitely imagined Spring as a feminine personification in the manner of the Roman Flora, or the Greek Maia and Persephone. There’s even a “Mother Earth” (i.e Gaia or Demeter) in line 16. This became standard in Western poetry many centuries ago, when we decided that references to pagan divinities and their qualities were perfectly acceptable even when we no longer believed in them. For these reasons I resist reading the piece through any kind of specifically Christian lens. Just because it contains the words “resurrection,” “rebirth,” and “Easter” doesn’t mean that it has some scriptural significance. Poems don’t exist merely as occasions of devotionalism, where they are understood as pious reflections of what we hear from pulpits. Of course if someone wants to read a poem in that sectarian manner, that’s fine. But telling them that it’s OK to do that because it’s good for their soul is carrying evangelism too far. Communists read every good poem as a reflection of the class struggle. In the fifteenth century a writer tried to interpret Ovid’s Amores and Ars Amatoria as poems of high praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Freedom of interpretation is good, but turning everything that you happen to like into a confirmation of your dogmatic convictions is unprofessional. Reply
Brian Yapko April 13, 2022 Joseph, thank you for this. I don’t know if this comment is directed to me, but I certainly find it applicable to my misreading of a critical aspect of Susan’s poem and so I, for one, stand corrected. Susan’s “Your Easter” and “resurrection” references are what most made me think that the address to Spring in the first part of the poem had been elevated to God in the second half. The words sounded Christian to my Jewish-raised ears. While ignorance is a poor excuse, I can’t claim great familiarity with the literary tradition behind this type of ode and, had I the requisite historical background, I would have been less inclined to make the error. You are also very right in observing that poems do not and should not exist solely for devotionalism. I, for one, enjoy seeing it when it’s there — primarily because I despise atheism in all of its form. But, speaking for myself, I have enjoyed reading and have written a large number of poems in which piety is quite irrelevant. I did, for example, greatly enjoy your Proverbial Uptight Librarian poem. And I could not agree more with the idea that “turning everything that you happen to like into a confirmation of your dogmatic convictions is unprofessional.” As for myself, despite temptation, my law background of 35 years leads me (as best I can) to focus on reviewing where the evidence leads without cherry-picking or projecting wishful thinking onto whatever poem, statute or witness statement I read. I’m sure I fall short but it’s not from want of trying to be objective. Reply
John Watts April 18, 2022 A very well accomplished ode I will add amongst the praise– for me the poem works better without being seen through the Christian lens, as Joseph mentions, which I think distracts from the poem being a wonderful devotion and admiration of the springtime. Reply
