God, without paintbrush, come and paint the year,
Big canvas, never framed, and always here.
You take your time, build slowly, sort light dark,
Prepare the ground, earth wet, keep contrasts stark.
Start with dark twigs, drip wet with diamond snow
Or prick dot milky way on indigo.
Perhaps you need red flaming tulip, hearted black
Before white wedding hedgerow, blue eggs crack.
Keep colours hidden fresh in little seeds.
Like Dürer, make a masterpiece of weeds.
My mother’s lily and my father’s rose,
like summer bombs, pure, livid love expose.
Time ochres, kharkis, russets grass and trees.
We view the final glory on our knees.