filling the heart

 

Spring, Like Popcorn

Spring is like popcorn,

once it starts to pop,

buds, flowers, leaves softly explode into being,

as if they all feel the call,

and enthusiastically respond as quickly as they can,

the Sun sets to the west

and spotlights the soft golden green of the oaks above me, 

the blueberries quickly bloom and set their fruit,

the first plantings in the garden

are slowly getting started,

though frost can still easily visit,

countless small bushes and trees

also rush to make their hay,

many of the birds seem manic in their courtship,

the bluebirds start to prepare their nest

in the wooden house we provide for them,

the earliest cultivated bushes,

our flowering quince and January jasmine,

have moved into full leafing,

the redbuds find this a good time for their magenta display,

in the forest the trout lilies give way 

to rue anemone, bluets, and spring beauty--what an apt name,

usually I am exhausted by the end of March,

but I am retired now, mostly,

my moments appreciating the green revolution

are less hazed by what the work world draws from me,

Spring fills the heart with the promises of its beauty

we'll need Summer and Fall to fill the stomachs

with this year's bounty.

by Henry H. Walker

March  29, ‘25