Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


WORMS by DOUGLAS MALLOCH

First Line: I ALWAYS KNOW WHEN SPRING IS HERE AT LAST
Last Line: BUT BET ON WORMS.
Subject(s): SPRING; WORMS;

I always know when Spring is here at last:
I've got a sign I can depend upon
When birds are late, or other signs are past,
Or overdue. I know when Winter's gone
Not by no robins that may fly around,
Nor flow'rs, nor any other fancy thing;
But when the worms come crawlin' from the ground
I know it's Spring.

Now, there's a prophet when he prophesies
You can depend upon, as I have said.
The robins fool you, and the very skies
Are bright and blue, with blizzards just ahead.
Trees bud too soon and hit another snow;
The grass will start too early many a year;
But when the angleworms begin to show
Then Spring is here.

A white grub in the garden tells the tale
A whole lot better than the poets can;
He ain't no singer like a nightingale
But, I insist, a better friend to man.
Old Mother Earth has told him Winter's through,
That Spring is here, in no uncertain terms.
Sing songs of birds and buds like poets do --
But bet on worms.



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