Consider the Grass Growing

Nicholas Hely Hutchinson

Consider the Grass Growing

Consider the grass growing

As it grew last year and the year before,

Cool about the ankles like summer rivers,

When we walked on a May evening through the meadows

To watch the mare that was going to foal.

Patrick Kavanagh

"Consider", Such a good word to begin a poem with. It makes me chuckle a bit, actually. Kavanagh is getting us to do the work. He's not explaining or summing things up, no, he leaves that to us. What is it about this grass growing? It sounds a bit biblical - that whole Psalm 103 thing, "As for man, his days are as grass...", and yes, he mentions the years past, but at the same time he's talking about the future, about expectations. And where do I find myself in all this? Enjoying the moment. "Cool about the ankles" - that is as true a description as there is. I've felt that. I feel it as I read.