Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

april is a dog's dream

the soft grass is growing

the sweet breeze is blowing

the air all full of singing feels just right

so no excuses now

we're going to the park

to chase and charge and chew

and I will make you see

what spring is all about

Who has seen the wind? 

Neither I nor you: 

But when the leaves hang trembling, 

The wind is passing through. 

Who has seen the wind? 

Neither you nor I: 

But when the trees bow down their heads, 

The wind is passing by.

It takes more than a wish

to catch a fish

you take the hook

you add the bait

you concentrate

and then you wait

you wait     you wait

but not a bite

the fish don’t have

an appetite

so tell them what

good bait you’ve got

and how your bait

can hit the spot

this works a whole

lot better than

a wish

if you really

want to catch

a fish

Marvelous

Opaque

Orb.

Night-light

          for the world.

Hugging you takes some practice.

So I'll start out with a cactus.

It's almost May

and yesterday

I saw a firefly.

You don't see

them a lot

in the city.

Sometimes

in the park

in the near dark

one comes out

you'll hear

a little kid shout

It's almost May

and yesterday

I caught a firefly in my hand.

First firefly I

seen in a 

long, long time.

Miss Edna said.

She looks for wiggly fishes,

At least so it appears,

To stuff inside the suitcase

That's swinging from her ears.

And though she's very graceful

When flying round and round,

How does she get that faceful

Of luggage off the ground?

I’m practicing my

         I-belong-here

         no-twig-snap

         no-leaf-rustle

         no-branch-crack

         see-all, know-all

         float-like-fog

         like-smoke

         pine-needle-soft

         forest walk. 

No one will know I’m coming.

No one will know when I’m gone.

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

Deep in our refrigerator,

there's a special place

for food that's been around awhile . . .

we keep it, just in case.

“It's probably too old to eat,”

my mother likes to say.

“But I don't think it's old enough

for me to throw away.”

It stays there for a month or more

to ripen in the cold,

and soon we notice fuzzy clumps

of multicolored mold.

The clumps are larger every day,

we notice this as well,

but mostly what we notice

is a certain special smell.

When finally it all becomes

a nasty mass of slime,

my mother takes it out, and says,

“Apparently, it's time.”

She dumps it in the garbage can,

though not without regret,

then fills the space with other food

that's not so ancient yet

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

to the fountains in the hall.

She handed extra homework

to the artwork on the wall.

 

We saw her point a finger

at a banner and a sign.

She said their bad behavior

was completely out of line.

 

The principal approached her

and said, “What is all this fuss?

I heard you tried to punish

all the tires on a bus.

 

“You’ve made the teachers angry

by disrupting all their classes,

so if you want to keep this job,

you have to wear your glasses!”

We love you! You rule!

You keep us away

from the teachers in school.

Your swings are refreshing.

Your slides are the best.

You give us a break

from a really hard test.

 

Recess! Oh, Recess!

We want you to know,

you’re sweeter than syrup,

you’re special like snow.

You don’t assign homework.

You make the day fun.

You let us play kickball

and run in the sun.

 

Recess! Oh, Recess!

You’re first on our list.

We’d be in despair

if you didn’t exist.

We’re happy we have you.

You’re awesome and cool.

Recess! Oh, Recess!

We love you! You rule!

It simply is the best.

Without an A, you could not get

an A+ on a test.
You’d never see an acrobat

or eat an apple pie.

You couldn’t be an astronaut

or kiss your aunt goodbye.

An antelope would not exist.

An ape would be unknown.

You’d never hear a person

say “Afraid” or “All Alone”.

The A’s in avocado

would completely disappear

and certain words would be forgot

like “ankle”, “arm”, and “ear”.

 

Without the A, you couldn’t aim

an arrow in the air.

You wouldn’t ask for apricots

or almonds at a fair.

Aruba and Australia

would be missing from a map.

You’d never use an ATM,

an apron, or an app.

The arctic fox and aardvark

would be absent from the zoo,

and vowels, as you know them,

would be E, I, O, and U.

There wouldn’t be an A chord

on the instruments you play.

Let’s appreciate, admire,

and applaud the letter A!