A Reminder

Inspired by the poem "Fresh Wind in Venice" by James Wright.

This poem

took me

to spring

in my

Cleveland childhood

where we

would watch

for signs, 

the daffodils,

then the

tulips blooming

in the 

 beds around

the front

window, and

we could

walk to

the park 

and break

off pussy

willows from

a tree

whose branches

bent over

the fence,

making it

public property

in our

view. And

those willows

would be

put in 

a vase

on our

kitchen table

and last

a long 

time. Fuzzy

and soft,

a reminder

that harsh

winters don't

last.

hms 6:33 a.m.