A Prayer in Spring🏵

Robert Frost, one of the most celebrated figures in American poetry, was born in San Francisco on 26 March 1874. He died in Boston in 1963

His first poetry collection was “A Boy’s Will” published in 1913. “A Prayer in Spring” is its tenth poem: it describes the greatness of love found not in distant thoughts but in those within reach which may help discover God’s plan.

A Prayer in Spring 💮

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid-air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

In this meditation on natural themes the poet asks God to grant us peace and happiness through nature and expresses the hope that we may learn to enjoy the present (“simply in the spring of the year”) since there is nothing we can do about the future (“the uncertain harvest”)
Therefore, we should be happy with the beautiful things of spring, which are “love” and everyone can sense and appreciate.
The things we do not understand are “reserved for God above” who uses them for his own will.
But spring with its flowers, birds, and bees can bring us a simple pleasure, easily understood.

Una preghiera a primavera 💮

Oh, lasciaci gioire dei fiori oggi;
e non farci andare col pensiero lontano
come al raccolto incerto; tienici tutti qui
semplicemente nella primavera dell’anno.

Oh, lasciaci gioire del frutteto bianco,
simile a null’altro di giorno, a un fantasma di notte;
e rendici felici con le api felici,
e il loro sciame che si dilata intorno ad alberi perfetti.

E rendici felici con l’uccello sfrecciante
che all’improvviso si sente sopra le api,
una meteora che si insinua come un ago,
e si ferma a mezz’aria immobile su di un fiore.

Perché questo e null’altro è amore,
quello che è riservato a Dio lassù
per santificare ciò che è nella sua volontà,
ma che deve solo essere realizzato da noi.
(L.Z)

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