April and May

 
I forgot to watch for April
because I wanted  May.
As soon as March was over
I set my mind to play.
I waited for the flowers,
the balmy perfumed air,
for sleeping in the grasses,
and sunlight in my hair.
 
But April came in gloomy
with overclouded skies,
freezing crocus petals;
the grass was undersize.
And April kept on lasting
without a hint of spring –
You could have called it March,
for me, and not have changed a thing.
 
 Till something started asking,
Why wish the days away?
If you can’t feel the April,
You’ll never touch the May
You’ll never savor sunlight,
or bend the playful breeze
You’ll never smell the air
or see the new green trees.
 
Unless there is an April,
how can there be a May?
 
                                                                        (1960s)