A balmy early March afternoon on Smith
College campus. The liberal conservatory
Is holding its glorious annual Spring Bulb Show,
which draws the usual droves of floral enthusiasts
And sensual connoisseurs, as evidenced by
The endless line of vehicles
Parked on the ordinarily carless street.
Inside the rustic ivy-cloaked greenhouse,
Hundreds ponder the stunning loveliness
Of various hyacinths, crocuses, irises
And flowering cacti, studying their Latin titles
As they wholesomely inhale perfumed halos
And enchanting stenches galore.
While I too appreciate a good bulb show,
Right now I prefer the more or less
Untouched view and purview of an old
Unpainted bench overlooking the happily twinkling pond.
Bodies of lights, schools of flickers, migrating constellations,
Fluttering iterations of italicized light-play:
Just a smattering of my lyrical confections
For the indescribable ballet of agile wattage
Gracing the water with every mild wind.
Inside the conservatory the bulb show is in full swing:
A regalia of botanical elegance
Arranged fastidiously by a few green thumbs,
Inducing appreciative “oohs” and “aahs”
From the bulbous and giddy pilgrims,
such as the kind heard at a fireworks display;
But the array of radiance and reassurance
Yielded by the chemistry between sunrays
And pond-flesh, choreographed by no human
wand or hand, is the kind of furtive,
intangible magic I prefer on this balmy
Early March afternoon on a bench just out of reach
From the sighing, snapshotting throng.
Connolly Ryan is a senior lecturer at UMass Amherst Honors College. You can contact him at connollyryanpi@hotmail.com.
