One of the Three Best Days
In one form or another there has appeared here a version of the best days: The Day After Christmas and The First Day of a Three-Day Snowstorm. There is a third: The First of August in Two Lands.
In America there is the Fourth of July and in Switzerland its equivalent is the First of August. The following was composed in tribute to both and constitutes the third best day.
The machinery of Spring
and early summer is mostly quiet,
after the labor and sweat,
the ache and fatigue endured for weeks.
Heavy cartloads of soil and peat
have been spread.
Flowers blossom where weeds
battled for space.
Nature's pastels have given way
to stronger hues.
Fruits and vegetables ripen, are ready.
Neighborhood cats have heeded
watery warnings: birds feed free.
Two months yet before leaf-raking.
My birth country on this day
counts its age in centuries of peace.
I, citizen of both lands, am American
by choice and love.
In America there is the Fourth of July and in Switzerland its equivalent is the First of August. The following was composed in tribute to both and constitutes the third best day.
The machinery of Spring
and early summer is mostly quiet,
after the labor and sweat,
the ache and fatigue endured for weeks.
Heavy cartloads of soil and peat
have been spread.
Flowers blossom where weeds
battled for space.
Nature's pastels have given way
to stronger hues.
Fruits and vegetables ripen, are ready.
Neighborhood cats have heeded
watery warnings: birds feed free.
Two months yet before leaf-raking.
My birth country on this day
counts its age in centuries of peace.
I, citizen of both lands, am American
by choice and love.
posted by marguerite louise at
10:03 AM
1 Comments:
A thoughtful post, as usual. I'll have to read about August 1 in Switzerland to refresh my memory about the historical importance of that date.
Great to have two new posts!!!!!!
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Anonymous, at 7/02/2007 8:30 PM
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