This Spring

This Spring
Yussra MT Ebrahim
5/10/2014

this spring
is different from the last
this year’s spring
has never yet passed

flowers and rain
we nod our heads, thinking “sure”
but this particular spring
we haven’t seen before

medium rain one day
early heat the next
months delayed bud break
this is the context

trees dormant until May
swollen blossoms holding back
the geometric rough woods
have just started to crack

when life burst forth
from every scarred knob
I greeted each petal
like it was my job

a smile for the pink
and a laugh for the white
and the purple bloom I think
is looking alright

the yellow of the dandelions
which will never be weeds
and the sun in my heart
and the heart in my deeds

and the trees without leaves
only flowers, only blush
or otherwise green
but with a yellowish flush

the same tree that blew me away
last year in its pregnant cream scent
it shocked me just as much this time around
with its ovular floral descent

gold nugget sprouts speckle
the green fiber hillside
with fragrant sugar molecules
this air keeps me outside

the smell of wood when it’s wet
how could I ever forget?
of the soil when it’s moist
and almost but not ready yet

yes, spring is here
wearing white sky, not blue
although spring is old
this spring is new

the seasons repeat
yes, the cycles go on
but each one to come
after what beauty has gone
is as new as this morning’s
particular dawn