Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BROADCAST, by KATHARINE LEE BATES



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BROADCAST, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Aha! Oho!
Last Line: To spring's dear steps, so far, so slow!
Subject(s): Spring


Aha! Oho!
Under the drifted snow
We bulbs are laughing, aha, oho,
At man's new toy of a radio,
The toy God gave to us long ago.

Haven't we always heard
Whenever an acorn stirred,
Or chilly hepatica, fuzzy-furred,
Azured or purpled or lavendered
Her buds to welcome the April bird?

Listen, listen in
To the cricket violin
Already tuning his minikin
Fiddlestick legs for the insect spin
On moonlight meadows when Junes begin.

Listen in for the whir
Of a million looms, the stir
Of each seed and bulb artificer
Weaving a carpet to spread for her,
Wayward Spring. Ah, loiterer!

While the white months pass,
We hear the roots of the grass
Tremble; already the iced morass
The catkins use as a looking-glass.
We hear sap run in the sassafras.

Spring, O come apace!
Shadblow launders her lace,
Violet and anemone race
To be first at the trysting-place,
And wild-rose rouges her piquant face.

Aha! Oho!
Under the melting snow
We bulbs are laughing, our hearts aglow,
As we listen in on the radio
To Spring's dear steps, so far, so slow!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...



Home: PoetryExplorer.net