Edouard Manet, 1832-1883
The Railway, 1869
Now close the windows and hush all the fields:
If the trees must, let them silently toss;
No bird is singing now, and if there is,
Be it my loss.
It will be long ere the marshes resume,
It will be long ere the earliest bird:
So close the windows and not hear the wind,
But see all wind-stirred.
Karen Edmisten gets the quote-of-the-week award.
(Close runner-up: the Cottage Blessings children on the delights of slime mold.)