Swan Lake: No, March is The Cruellest Month

And spring my least favourite season. It feels like being dragged back to work, restless and anxious with your hair flying into your mouth. Yet it’s also the setting for so many potent memories. I went for a walk the other evening by Swan Lake and wondered, why don’t I like this season more?

Student Film

We bought an orchid sprig 

Purple-throated, neon-blue-lipped, 

And dropped it into the snow. 

We filmed it in slow motion.

It was so warm that day

that the snow was mostly water

and the air was blurred with fog.

Chorus frogs 

The student research assistant position came with an instructional CD. 

Chorus frog calls, said the narrator, sound like a fingernail dragged on comb teeth.

After, I could always pick chorus frogs out of the spring nights, 

Through the heavy wet air, over where

the ponds breathed black and green. 

Worm moon 

A Montreal streetlight

Beveled in branches

Bedbug bites and beerbottle nights. 

I felt relief when I saw the moon.

This would all be over soon. 

Underground Stream

Playing in the streamlets

My cuffs get wet

And slap at my wrists

Like a parent’s cold hand.

Stop. 

No. I pull away. Keep digging. 

The sun is pale and thin

And young like us. 

Swan Lake Trail
Time: 40 miniutes
Distance: 3 km
Elevation: Flat