Spring Villanelle

A villanelle about the coming of Spring

A green haze hints that spring might soon appear,

The trees come into leaf, unhurried, slow,

Like Brexit, always coming, never here.

The sky grows blue, the grey begins to clear

And as the flowers’ colours start to show

A green haze hints that spring might soon appear. .

Too long we’ve suffered February’s drear

With March and April still in winter’s tow

Like Brexit, always coming, never here.

And where is May with all her promised cheer?

Her blossoms still stay tightly closed, although

A green haze hints that spring might soon appear.

It hovers close, a presence almost near,

A seed in frozen soil that’s loath to grow

Like Brexit, always coming, never here

Just like an engine stuck in bottom gear

That inches forwards caught in winter’s snow,

A green haze hints that spring might soon appear

Like Brexit, always coming, never here.