This spirited poem celebrates both the beauty of spring and the darker elements of the season’s rush of growth.
By Paul Jones | Illustration by Jenn Hales

Chapel Hill-based poet Paul Jones is the author of Something Wonderful (2021) and Something Necessary (2024), both from Redhawk. He’s recently been published in Rattle, New Verse Review, Salvation South and anthologies including Best American Erotic Poems. Jones is a member of the North Carolina State University Computer Science Hall of Fame and a manuscript of his poems landed on the moon in February 2024. “March is a tease. April is correctly called cruel. But by May, spring is fully underway. Who, what does not celebrate? Who, what would not sing? Even if unheard by others, like, say, bats? Who, what would not write a poem for May?”

Jenn Hales, a North Carolina native grew up in an earth-sheltered home, reading books and running around in the woods drawing the creatures she observed in nature and in her imagination. Hales studied sustainable industrial design and currently creates artwork in her garage/studio in Raleigh. Learn more at jennhales.com

This poem originally appeared in the May 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.