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Science Poetry

Familiar Refrains

“A shift both routine and elysian; /
A blend between wonder and reason… / 
Past winter’s endurance, /
Returning assurance: /
Repeated relief of spring’s season.”  

The 4 April 2025 Bluesky limerick was centered on a memorable quote from scientist and writer Rachel Carson (1907-1964), from her book The Sense of Wonder.  

“A shift both routine and elysian; /
A blend between wonder and reason…” 

With the shift to Bluesky this April, I found myself using photos to accompany some of the poems, and this was a case in point.  As spring arrived in earnest, I had added three photos to this post from a walk in the nearby park: one of new blossoms on a tree, one of a bird silhouetted against the morning sky, one of new flowers and leaves.  All three had been welcome sights to me in recent days, at the time, and all helped support the quote from Rachel Carson’s The Sense of Wonder, which celebrates close observation of several striking moments in nature, including the arrival of spring after winter.     

Blossoming trees in spring.
A flowering tree in springtime.
A bird silhouetted against a pale blue morning sky in spring.
A bird silhouetted against the morning sky.
Small blue flowers and green leaves emerging from a layer of dry, brownish leaves.
Blossoms and leaves in the spring.

“Past winter’s endurance, /
Returning assurance: /
Repeated relief of spring’s season.”  

Carson’s quote states: “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature: the assurance that the dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.  Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”  

While it seems somewhat melancholy to write about this particular poem in September, since the calendar is now shifting slowly back toward shorter days and cooler temperatures, the transition from summer to autumn provides its own welcome moments.  I noticed over a recent weekend that the maple trees along the same path were just beginning to be tinged with red.

Maple leaves just beginning to reveal their scarlet autumn colors.
Maple leaves just beginning to reveal their scarlet autumn colors.

While these are not the new leaves of spring, their autumnal turns are always a highlight; their appearances, to borrow Carson’s wording, provide similarly healing refrains.