The Dryad
In a bloom of midmay light,
Bright boon of day long lain
Away, long hidden behind
A crumpled grey curtain
Of rain and fog and rain,
Of water in ceaseless refrain,
There stood a swift, still moment
Too fine to long maintain:
A girl for glance of eye-
Then pear tree once again.
With bright green beads of new
Born leaves along her train-
crowned in dewdrop diadem,
And bridal veil of rain.
Some slip of sunlight falling
Made lace of every leaf vein.
A girl for glance of eye,
Then pear tree once again.
Strung along a limb as lithe
And slender as silver chain,
Bloomed pearls of petals curled
And corked tightly to contain
A foam and rush of flowers
Splashed out like pale champagne.
Soon set at naught by shade,
She lost her brief domain.
Sprung up from things too swift,
too strong to long refrain-
A girl for glance of eye,
Then pear tree once again.
Late Winter Lullaby
To see the daylight lying low,
To see it lie its head to rest,
Watch its embered heartbeat slow-
Bright hearth’s fast fade from flame to ash.
For this I’ll watch the wind come blow
Black leaves along the alley, ash
From heart of a hearth lit long ago,
Ash and soot blown back from days
Of amber glow, song-laced, sipt overflow
Of stars of spring, the stars of things
About to burst and bloom and grow.
For this I’ll seek the soot black side paths,
The light lorn lanes and hedges-to know
The resting place of day. To see
The restless day toss to and fro
In dreaming, sigh and murmur low;
The daylight’s heartbeat set belowthe brim,
still beating gold ‘round brink and trim.
Clementine
And oh! Most heartily am I glad
Of the fact that this bright
And bursting fruit to be had
In the days of little light
And bitter cold at winter’s start,
This orange, this star in winter,
Is surely the very heart
Of the summer, the flaming center.
Caitlin Clase is an aspiring writer who spends more time reading
than writing. She loves the sound of bells, the smell of vanilla, and
any color of a jewel toned hue. You can occasionally find her writing at www.onewhitesinginghour.wordpress.com.