Pictures in Rhyme/The Summons of Spring

by Arthur Clark Kennedy

THE SUMMONS OF SPRING

Gallows that beckon and grin and nod,
And a strong man shrill in his agony:
'The green leaves, See, O mother of God!
The green leaves call me; I cannot die.'

His fingers grip the bars of his cell,
And his thirsty face is turned to the sky,
While his voice comes over the tolling bell:
'The green leaves call me; I cannot die.'

He is dragged down the corridors white and wide,
He is held upright 'neath the hempen ring;
But he heeds not the earnest priest at his side,
For his ears are filled with the summons of Spring.

Then this world slips from under his feet,
And he goes to that other world unshriven,
Where, I trust, when his sins are purged, he may meet
With a fairer Spring in heaven.