April Is Still the Cruelest Month

It was 1922 when T.S. Eliot wrote the famous line, “April is the cruelest month,” in his poem, The Waste Land. Nearly a century later, it seems to still hold true. Yet, our view is flip-flopped. While Eliot wrote about the month’s bringing “lilacs out of the dead land” being cruel, these are the very thing we’re so desperately yearning for here in the Northeast!

Indeed, spring seems to be dragging its feet this year. While Eliot seems to mourn winter, longing for its ability to shelter us and “keep us warm,” many of us northerners do not share the same sentiments. We’ve had enough, and snow in April seems far crueler than blooming lilacs.

Of course, we don’t blame Eliot, or any other great poet, or even Mother Nature herself for any of this. If all we have to complain about is the weather, things really aren’t so bad, are they?

Still, after summer ends, we might just find ourselves reading much of the night and going south in the winter.

Are there any other poems that come to mind this time of year? What are you reading right now – poetry or otherwise? Let us know; we’d love to hear from you!