LOVELIEST of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
A. E. Housman
Today the cherry orchards were in full flower. It has been a cold snowy winter, but spring is spectacular and if the rain holds off, there should be an excellent cherry harvest.
In the woods the wild cherry were white against the dark conifers and I thought of this favourite Housman poem and counted my years left to ” watch the cherry hung with snow”.
It’s always a joy to see blossoming cherry trees. That’s a good poem, and one of my favourites too. xx
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A perfect spring poem. Glad you love it too! x
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Thank you for sharing this beautiful, if slightly wistful poem. It was new to me.
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Cherry blossom viewing time (O-Hanami) now in full swing here in Japan. Much enjoyed by everyone! A.E. Housman the favourite poet of Colin Dexter and, by proxy, Inspector Morse. Sadly, the recently deceased Colin Dexter.
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Happy Birthady for Tuesday!
I didnt know the Dexter link, but it fits with his character’s wistful approach to life. x
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