Once April rouses earth from deep, silent slumber
and awakens the stirrings of the unopened bud.
Beauty, hidden for a time, duly ushers in the season,
reborn beauty, subtle and sublime,
a renaissance of new life in bloom.
Crocus and snowdrop, daffodil and lily
come to life at the surface of the groggy, gray ground.
Beauty, breaking, burgeoning, breath-taking
So brief a time, when the blossom is in its prime,
so brief a time, when the blossom will flourish in its overwhelming beauty, hidden for a time, duly ushers in the season,
reborn beauty, subtle and sublime,
a renaissance of new life in bloom.

– Philip Silvey

I love the days in April when flecks of pink, yellow, and white begin to form in small clusters across the muted, dormant landscape. Once again the earth stirs from its state of rest, poignantly illustrating the miracle of regeneration. This surge of color swells rapidly but soon fades, and I am compelled to give it my full attention while it lasts.

The uneven pulse of the piano accompaniment symbolizes the brewing sense of new life suggested by the poem. Singers can feel seven-eight with relative ease by chanting the words “daffodil daisy daisy” in even eighths, stressing the first syllable of each word. This reveals the 3+2+2 subdivision. Mentally grouping two written measures into one measure of seven-four reveals rhythmic patterns in the melody, which often move on the last two beats of each two-bar grouping.

Duration: 3:08