Poem:7am, first day of spring. 2009.

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7am, first day of spring. 2009.

Lovely to walk in the garden that first week,
pre-spring, when the earth is just
warmer, slowly changing from winter frost to soylent green.
To find that the buds’ve been breaking out of their
warm brown coats, prickly and itchy.
Pulling them off, layer by layer, those first days,
soft undershirts drawn over their heads,
to uncover bright green leaves, curled up
around the edges like frilly spring dresses.
Reaching for that pale sun, serene, shadowy,
the warm light slowly dries the sodden earth
once frozen now springy; while tiny shoots
push their way out of the dirt,
well after the groundhog sees his shadow.

7am, first day of spring. 2009.
Big white rain-soaked flakes, fall
from the sky, and (Surprise! Surprise!)
cover with snow the bearded iris shoots
and pointy shirly tulip leaves with their sharp tips,
this gray morning in
the United States of America, NJ.
The little mounds of lily’s leaves, the brand new
branches of the dwarf baby lilac tree, not yet three years old,
shiver, surprised at the wet cold morning.
Giving them all an “out-like-a-lion” winter chill.

—mlw(aka Poetgardener)

I edited this poem, after realizing that it was really two poems, not one. I wanted to show how at first it was just the pre-spring season, and then how on the first day of spring it snowed, but it almost felt like I was saying too much in one poem. So at my daughter’s suggestion I broke the poem in two.

• 21 Mar, 2009
• 5 likes

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