Picture ©BenjaminSullivan
Cherry Blossom
The saddest spring
of venomous breezes
ominous clouds
our red-letter days
torn off unused
our plans on hold
no walking out
in early April
rainbow weather
only hurrying strangers
deserted pavements
enemy terrain
the cheerful tears
of cherry blossom flowers
fall round about
like the silk and satin
pink and white lace
dream-tatters
that fell to our feet
and were happily
kicked to one side
until this jealous
second winter came
stalking between us.
Hugo Williams worked at London Magazine from 1961 to 1970 and has also edited poetry for the New Statesman. He is the author of more than a dozen collections of poetry, including West End Final (2009), Collected Poems (2002), Billy’s Rain (1999), which won the T.S. Eliot Prize, and his Eric Gregory Award–winning debut, Symptoms of Loss (1965). A selection of his freelance writing appears in the essay collection Freelancing: Adventures of a Poet (1995). His additional honours include the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, and the Cholmondeley Award.
Comments