Spring Lilacs

By David Gosselin

I.

One morning, I found lilacs in the rain:
The sun was mute, the birds had ceased their song,
The skies were dimmed by gaunt and graying clouds—
The lilacs shivered in the dawn.

Each one seemed too sweet to outlive the morn,
Thickening the air with its dying breath;
I thought of all the beauties May has borne—
How sweetly each one welcomes Death.

II.

How dreamy was the new spring day:
The streams like pristine angels sighed,
Winds swept the woods like Aeolian harps,
Only the lilacs seemed too shy.

Was mid-May’s sun not strong enough,
Or did the soft breeze come and whisper
Tidings of some approaching season—
Did she mention the coming of winter?

III.

I’ve once again wandered into the garden
Where I used to play as a little child
When a thousand flowery faces greeted me,
All of them lovely and wild.

The dreamy lavender serenely swayed,
Sending its fragrant kisses through the air,
Until the gentle breeze chased them away,
Like children laughing, free of care.

The shining dew dripped from the rose’s calyx,
Stain…