Easter: Reflections on the Primal Word

Poet Daniel Leach reflects on Easter in his home state of Texas. The poet meditates on the sacred Word which works through us all—often without our ever really knowing why or how. Today we celebrate that mystery. Here, where winter never really comes,How so, this vast profusion of wildflowers,These waves of jasmine sweet upon the wind,This hum and trill and trickling flow of life?There was no deathlike sleep in endless nightsOr desperate, lean searching amid the coldFrom which to burst forth now in joyous rebirth,Only sad, drooping summer days ahead,Where scorching sun seems to kill all life and thought;And yet, for one brief moment, all the worldProclaims itself reborn! The luscious greenOf grass and budding boughs waves brief in lightAgainst the darkening storm off in the WestLike a moist breath that plays upon the cheek.And I feel that old aching in the heartOf long lost loves in Springs gone by,And buried hopes I dared not dream again.But oh, I think, this could not ever thenWhen I was young, have made me cry like this,Or deep the heaving sigh at the sweet sightOf little child with sunlit, breezy curls,Oh, I am mindful now of nearing death,And greet as brother the deep, soft twilight,And the immeasurably distant stars above,That over eons die and are rebornIn other forms as is all this below,And souls who feel the beauty of that SpringEternal, watch and weep and breathe their sighsOut into the unfolding universe,Where they are like the silent, primal WordThat never dies but creates ever new. Daniel Leach is a poet living in Houston, Texas. He has spent much of his life fighting for the ideals of classical culture and poetry. His first volume of poetry, compiling over 20 years of composition, is entitled Voices on the Wind. His second volume is entitled Places the Soul Goes. Stay tuned for our latest issue of New Lyre Magazine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ageofmuses.substack.com/subscribe