SPRING BROWNS

Winter’s monochrome thrall

of a dull, dark, depressed landscape,

is broken - as browns commune in the fields.

Frowning, dark ploughed furrows

polished as turned. Vandyke brown

catching the sun. Edged by stone walls

covered in lichens, yellow ochre, browned and dry.

Frost broken browns, russet with iron.

Rust flaking dust shaking reds

clasping their beds of seeds.

Rich red ochre, harrowed and sown,

shading of lines, pencils hatching

burnt umber soils, suggesting a taste

of rich dark chocolate and a barley drink

just showing fresh - bright olive khaki.

The sun warms the spring and the earth pushes up

Handfuls that crumble and handfuls that stick.

Warm or dusty, with cold mineral scent.

A penny brown postmark of tracks, waves goodbye.

A brown hare moves over madder brown

meandering aimlessly, in fits - and starts.

Oxide boles or clays, coloured with iron

pushed up by moles to speckle lime greens.

Chalk bone brown, calcium rich.

Fawn speckled brown.

Red lead  - Granny’s farmhouse step.

Pheasant tail brown, strutting up hedgerows.

Copper brown and beech hedge leaves.

Buzzard wings, burnt green earth.

Roe deer flank, sienna burnt.

Chestnut banks that run by the rivers edge.

Copper browns and butterflies flown

over the Meadow Brown blown.

Terra cotta, Scots pine bark,

flaked in patches with leaf litter brown.

And the ochre's palette opening,

extending to red, gold and yellow.

Grey browns and brown greys.

Mars brown, Patinated bronze.

Raw umber standing brown, brown, brown - Bringing

Spring, Spring, Spring

©Nigel Bridges 2009

www.nigelbridges.com