Poem of the Day: “Epicurus in Spring” by James Frederick William Rowe, Frequent Contributor

Epicurus in Spring

James Frederick William Rowe

First flowers

And the final thaw

Spring emerged

And had at last bloomed

After many fitful starts

And air that would in Autumn

Herald the return of jackets

Of hats and scarves

Was accounted warm

Even as ice will melt

Though cold water runs over it   

  

With delicate fingers

A notable Epicure

Delighted himself

By plucking from a bowl

The choicest selection of cheeses

As he dined amidst the perfumes

Of blossom and wind

Upon a park bench

Whereupon his friend arrived

Coatless and short sleeved

And greeted him like warm weather

Said he to whom cheese

Was his chief delight, his sole indulgence:

"My friend, my friend

Do you not now see my point?

This weather proves me right

For what is Spring without Winter?

So too is evil paired with good

Indeed, were it not for evil

We should never be good at all

As goodness springs from evil

Just as this season from the last"

"That pleasures deprived"

Began the gourmet sage

"Are heightened indeed I shall concede

And that the glory of this weather

Is made all the more by the long

Dreary days we have passed in frost

But tell me, my friend

You who have abandoned your winter wear

That warmth mayn't be wearying

Would you retain your coat

If winter never came again?"

"There would be no need."

     "There would be no need."

Poet’s Notes: "Epicurus in Spring" owes its genesis to the wonderful relief of spring weather after a long, terrible winter (as we had this last winter in New York), and the fortunate correspondence this change in temperature had with my spring philosophy's course class on the Problem of Evil.  The character of Epicurus is based on the ancient Greek philosopher (pictured).  I imagined him sitting outside of Gramercy Park, or else in Madison Square Park, both near Baruch College where I work. The addition of his bowl of cheese is merely added relish to his inner peace and the inherent pleasantness of the day, whether in New York or back in ancient Greece from which he has mysteriously been summoned in my mind.

Editor’s Note:  The opening stanza would make a fine stand-alone poem with its beautiful imagery, peaceful mood, appeal to the senses, and nod to ancient Greece.  The following philosophical discussion has a playful banter to it, enhanced by the rhythm of the piece.  The moral lesson is thought provoking and as timely now as it was in the centuries before the Common Era.   "Epicurus in Spring" was a finalist in the 2016 Songs of Eretz Poetry Award Contest.