Last day of February – a poem

Last day of February

the first crocuses penetrate the crust of winter soil

bright light gathered and blooming

white petals greet blue sky

asserting rebirth

     unseen incarnations of earthworms, microbes

     and the lacy growth of mould

     make fertile the ground for seed

a robin     a chickadee

flocks of indigenous year-rounders

     swoop and soar

     compete for soggy rowan berries

     challenge gusty winds head-on

this is the day of the poem:

     newly budded maple swells,

          red branches frame the horizon

     and the smell of spring

          – promising, returning, awakening –

permeates my blood like a lover