Old Lilacs

In college, I lived on Lilac Lane, a road true to its name.  By early May, the perfume of lilacs wafted in through every open window.  Oh!  How wonderful it was.

Here in Virginia, the lilacs have bloomed (the swallowtails loved them!) and are now fading, but back home and further north, they are still quietly gathering their strength.

Old Lilacs

Through early April cold,
these thin gray horses
have come near the house
as to a fence, and lean there
hungry for summer,
nodding their heads
with a nickering of twigs.

Their long legs are dusty
from standing for months
in winter’s stall, and their eyes
are like a cloudy sky
seen through bare branches

They are waiting for May
to come up from the barn
with her overalls pockets
stuffed with the fodder
of green.  In a month
they will be slow and heavy,
their little snorts so sweet
you’ll want to stand
among them, breathing.

- Ted Kooser, from Delights & Shadows (2004)