Song Of A Second April

April this year, not otherwise

Than April of a year ago

Is full of whispers, full of sighs,

Dazzling mud and dingy snow;

Hepeticas that pleased you so

Are here again, and butterflies.

(Hepetica nobilis)

 One of the first wildflowers to bloom in eastern North America, these bright, 

    starry-eyed beauties can be violet blue, white, or pink in color and are often

   discovered poking up through a pile of dead brown leaves carpeting

 the floor of a leafless forest in the early days of spring.

There rings a hammering all day

And shingles lie about the doors;

From orchards near and far away

The gray wood-pecker taps and bores,

And men are merry at their chores

And children earnest at their play.

The large streams run still and deep;

Noisy and swift the small brooks run.

Among the mullein stalks the sheep

Go up the hillside in the sun

Pensively; only you are gone,

You that alone I cared to keep.

(Verbascum thapsus)

Also known as the Mullein plant, this wild relative of the
Snapdragon is also native to many places in North America.
You can often find it growing in your own backyard!
Mullein tea has been traditionally used for centuries
 as a natural treatment for upper respiratory ailments
such as chest colds, bronchitis, and asthma.



"Song Of A Second April"

(1921)

Edna St. Vincent Millay

(1892-1950)

American poetess and playwright