April Rise.

[Tilly2]

I have posted this on this day for several years now. I make no apologies for posting it again as there might be someone, for whom it is new. One of my all time favourites. I hope you enjoy it too.

April Rise

If ever I saw blessing in the air
I see it now in this still early day
Where lemon-green the vaporous morning drips
Wet sunlight on the powder of my eye.

Blown bubble-film of blue, the sky wraps round
Weeds of warm light whose every root and rod
Splutters with soapy green, and all the world
Sweats with the bead of summer in its bud.

If ever I heard blessing it is there
Where birds in trees that shoals and shadows are
Splash with their hidden wings and drops of sound
Break on my ears their crests of throbbing air.

Pure in the haze the emerald sun dilates,
The lips of sparrows milk the mossy stones,
While white as water by the lake a girl
Swims her green hand among the gathered swans.

Now, as the almond burns its smoking wick,
Dropping small flames to light the candled grass;
Now, as my low blood scales its second chance,
If ever world were blessed, now it is.
Laurie Lee.

[fiction-factory]

Lovely, Tilly. (When I saw your title I assumed it was something to do with Teachers' Pensions.)

[goodgoalie]

That's lovely, Tilly, and not one I've seen before. Had no idea Laurie Lee wrote poetry, so thank you for the introduction.

I recently came across a poem (on a quite different subject) which I share with you in reciprocation:

Unburn the boat, rebuild the bridge,
Reconsecrate the sacrilege,
Unspill the milk, decry the tears,
Turn back the clock, relive the years,
Replace the smoke inside the fire,
Unite fulfilment with desire,
Undo the done, gainsay the said,
Revitalise the buried dead,
Revoke the penalty and clause,
Reconstitute unwritten laws,
Repair the heart, untie the tongue,
Change faithless old to hopeful young,
Inure the body to disease
And help me to forget you please

Duncan Forbes

Ah yes, we've all felt like that, have we not?

[Tilly2]

That's a lovely, thought provoking poem, GG. Thank you for posting that.

I have just googled Duncan Forbes. An interesting man.

[Tilly2]

FF, Just how much is the rise? Do you know? :-)

[fiction-factory]

Mine was zero last year (I was surprised when you said yours went up)- but I was only in scheme for 3 years so it's only a modest amount anyway to supplement my earnings until I draw my main pensions; consequently I'm not too concerned.

[jno]

Quite Hopkins, that is.

[Tilly2]

Just looked it up, FF.
https://www.teachers.org.uk/pension-increase-2018.

Katie couldn't have written that, Jno. :-)

[jno]

Katie Womanly Hopkins? True.

[fiction-factory]

Thanks Tilly. (Link didn't workdirectly but I went in via NUT site and found it) 3% is okay. I'm wondering though whether I took the option that was a higher amount but fixed forever as mine didn't go up 1% last year. Will find out in April or maybe May

[Tilly2]

Oh, did you mean this Hopkins, Jno?

Glory be to God for dappled things –
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.


Just my sort of poem. :-)

[Tilly2]

I'm happy with 3%, FF.

Every little helps. :-)

[roopower]

That's lovely and new to me so thank you.