With a difference —Hamlet.

Again the bloom, the northward flight, 
The fount freed at its silver height, 
And down the deep woods to the lowest, 
The fragrant shadows scarred with light.

O inescapable joy of spring! 
For thee the world shall leap and sing;
But by her darkened door thou goest 
Forever as a spectral thing.

Copyright © 2025 by Louise Imogen Guiney. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on March 23, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.