2 JUNE 1967, Page 11

Recovering

KEVIN CROSSLEY-HOLLAND

I am recovering; the quickening sun, the impatient tendrils seem recoveries. I dream each spring of being one, and, dreaming, heal sufficiently. The grass thickens, blades grow strong; for a season only there is nothing but the singing and the song. Year turns: I shield my eyes from the sun, lose the lark ascending; air takes apart its song. Turning years . . . each fractures me; and each year I am less refractory, more hungry for the spring when I walk in the garden, almcst one, and know I am recovering from being born.