HEDGE SCHOOL by Pat Boran
This poem is a year old now, but of course that’s exactly what it’s about: the return of the light and the life-force to be seen all around us these last few days.
I’m no expert in the field, as one might say, and god knows people have a lot to contend with just now. But how could one not be moved – lifted, even – by the sheer frenzy of excitement to be found in back gardens and local hedgerows at this time of year.
‘The world is unequally divided,’ my father was very fond of saying (was he quoting Marx?), so much so that sometimes offering praise here while fresh horrors are being visited upon others elsewhere causes us to hold our tongues.
But knowing what we have, and appreciating it, is an essential part of empathising with those who have not. There but for the grace of god …
So I leave out my sprinkle of seeds (as I see the words of a poem like this) in the hope that they are found by some fellow creature learning to make do in this beautiful and cruel world.