When it is not spring

Nathan Gatewelder Longs for Spring

“which in our case we have not got”*

Nathan Gatewelder put away childish things
became a member in good standing, an adult
with sensible shirts and foolish ones, and a dog,
white with brown splotches, who came whenever called.

But, in the summer
Nathan longed for spring

He moved from an apartment to a brick house
with an attached garage, a green lawn mower,
a small maple tree with fringed plum copper leaves,
and an attic filled with someone else’s past.

And in the winter
Nathan longed for spring

Nathan built a deck with a stone-lined fire pit,
a chiminea, and a big propane grill.
He invited friends from work to parties,
and married a woman with two small children.

Yet, still, in the fall
Nathan longed for spring

when life is restless
and carbonated
and a man may be
excused for wanting
to stand in the wind
holding a red kite.

______________________________

Asked to write a poem based on a favorite line
from a favorite poem by a favorite poet, I chose
this one, though, I, in honesty, only love this one
sad, funny poem of Henry Reed’s.

Naming of Parts by Henry Reed*

………The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
Which in our case we have not got.

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