Today's poem, perfectly titled for a beautiful day in April, is a pretty tough one for me. Even now, listening to what I said when I recorded, I'm only half-convinced of my interpretation. I have noticed some new stuff, that I would include if I could. But the recording is not a historical event, captured in this one-take.

I did do a little editing in this recording, though. A good chunk is me getting distracted by birds, and it's boring to listen to me watching. The birds were too quiet to hear well, and it just isn't that compelling to listen to birdwatching. It isn't compelling for me, and I'm the one who was doing it. So I edited that out.

I also edited out three or four false starts on my interpretation. Between my readings of the poem, I gave some exegesis, and then some better, and then different from before. I left in only the last one, because it is the most detailed.

My reading of it isn't informed by any research from Millay experts (which I am not), but only my own skills as a reader. Do you see something different, something that is supported by the text? Then you've got some skills, too. Well done, friend.

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