Late Spring is a Wild Revolution

with its carpets of bluebells
and cowslips;

gorse pods popping,
pinecones dropping;

an overexuberance of May blossom
blooming with burgeoning butterflies:

brimstones, holly blues,
and pearl-bordered fritillaries.

How soon it is over,
giving way to heat

and brighter flowers,
an exhausting psychedelia.

Kim M. Russell, 21st May 2026

Free photo found on Pixabay

It’s Thursday and Open Link Night at the dVerse Poets Pub, where Grace is our host.

As I was away for Björn’s Meeting the Bar last week, I thought I’d write a list poem; as he wrote, “The use of lists in poetry can be a very powerful tool. Not just as poems themselves but maybe even more as a tool to start when your creativity is low. It may be a way to create descriptions for abstract objects or to expand a metaphor. A list can also work as a metaphor, or it can be a list of negations.”

I agree that creating a list is often a good way to gather inspiration.

42 thoughts on “Late Spring is a Wild Revolution

  1. Exhausting psychedelia Awesome line to close the poem, we are still in that exponential blooming stage here in the Northwest, but already getting peeks at 80+ degree days here and there. Just a matter of time before the heat. I loved all your gorgeous imagery in this, well done!🩵

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  2. This is stunning, Kim! 😍 I resonate with; “an overexuberance of May blossom blooming with burgeoning butterflies.” ❤️❤️

    Liked by 2 people

  3. The only thing I miss from my years of whiney wine & winsome roses is the several occasion of eating psychedelic mushrooms: such plush fevered whimsy to this vernal poem which, I doubt, required anything out of a baggie at 3 AM. In Florida that revolution occured between 8 and 10:30 AM on a Tuesday back in mid-April. Now the summer steam iron presses us flat. Cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Never used Mushrooms, and current professin would roundly proscribe, but I have been intrigued by a couple of recent cinematic representations in recent years in “My Old Ass,” (good trip) and “Hokem” (Bad Trip)

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  4. I love the listing of flowers and butterflies, and the fabulous sounds in the poem, as well.

    “an overexuberance of May blossom
    blooming with burgeoning butterflies:”

    Such a sensory image. I can see and almost smell it. 🌸

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I too missed Björn’s list prompt so also went with that…

    Loved your blooming list, Kim,

    “gorse pods popping,
    pinecones dropping”

    Liked by 1 person

  6. The first two on your list drew me in Kim. Fond memories! I have a visit to London scheduled for London in October. Of course the pretty flowers will be gone by then but I will have Autumn 🥰 I need to touch base again as it’s been a while.

    Liked by 1 person

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