Spring Awakening (Satis Shroff)

Spring Awakening (Satis Shroff)

Spring Awakening (Satis Shroff)

April weather,
A melange of warm Spring days,
And cold, wet ones.
Capricious weather beause the polar regions,
The Atlantic and North Sea are still cold.
The continent has been warmed
By the high sun in the sky.
New clouds cross the vast sky.
We are blessed with April showers,
That peter out to bright sunny days.
Ah, April, April.
You know not what you will.

The small roots have leafed today.
The smell of wisteria permeates the air.
The robin,blackbird, sparrows, finches
And the woodpecker are busy pecking,
Tweeting and chirping on the boughs.
The very soil lives,
Teeming with ticks and mites,
Wriggling earthworms and larvae,
Scurrying spiders and busy ants,
Bacteria, fungi, viruses.
Were it not for the denizens of the soil,
There would be no life.
Plants and animals are deep kindreds,
And genetic mutation causes more diversity.

* * * *

A Time for Singing (Satis Shroff)

In March I was in Sikkim,
Admiring the orchids of the Himalayas.
In April I'm back in the Black Forest,
Longing for the Spring flowers to bloom.
The primroses and daffodils,
Bobbing in the green meadows of Kappel.

The tulips raise their heads,
In the fields bear the bus-station.
A few Teuton females are busy cutting them
With scissors for the living-room.

The time for singing has come,
With the advent of the sun.
The chirps and tweets become audible,
As I make my way home after a morning walk.

* * * *

Monsoon (Satis Shroff)

Nothing remains the same.
There's an eternal coming and going.
Birth and decay gives way to birth again.
Even rocks decay and disintegrate
When the rain brings
Nitrogen and carbon dioxide from the skies,
Chemical changes occur unceasingly,
Causing water to evaporate.
Rain condences,
Clouds arise taking droplets to the sky,
Only to release them when heavy.

At first a few drops,
Then a pitter and patter.
From the Bay of Bengal,
Along the Assam corridor,
The torrential monsoon unleashed.
It gives life to animals and plants,
Brings erosion on deforested hills,
Causes landslides
And loss of life.
A Nepali bird sings:
'Kaphal pakyo, काफल पाक्यो!'
The fruit is ripe.