No Snake in Springtime

No snake in springtime ever felt the yearning

. More poignantly than I to slough, to pull

The hated, hardened, drying, all-confining

Skin from the flesh; to reach beyond the bounds

Established by the petty planning blood-

To reach beyond, to grow, to feel the scratch

Of earth on sensitive membrane; to feel, to feel

Again heat, cold, rough, fluid, solid, smooth;

To pass through daze and blindness and contortion

Into a tortured peace. No snake in springtime

Felt ever wearier of his seasoned armor,

The supple definitions of his strength.

Elizabeth F. Coatsworth