May – time of hawthorn:
Come queen of months in company
wi all thy merry minstrelsy
the restless cuckoo absent long
and twittering swallows chimney song…
(from John Clare’s The Shepherd’s Calendar 1-4)
MAY
Month of the Hawthorn
Hare moon Milk moon Bright moon
Peonies bloom short glamour.
The birds sing fiercely and loud.
In the dusk blackbirds fill the air with song.
We wear lighter clothes. Cotton hats.
The air is sweet, thick with insects.
Listen to their under whisper.
Frogs have begun to chorus.
Time to find wild herbs flowering.
The hawthorn blooms call us to Maying.
Fertility dances around.
( An extract from May in my new book ‘Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar’ costs £4 and is available from me at rosecook108@gmail.com
or order from: info@greyhenpress.com )
Rose Cook 