spring

_{Photo by Cait Thomson}

By Cait Thomson

every year

it is the same

it feels like

it will never arrive

and then

one blessed morning

the sun feels

warm on skin

and birds appear

every year

it is the same

the routine

of the seasons

calms me

soon I will

wear my sandals

crunching over

melting snow

the air

comes alive

before the ground

every year

it is the same

eventually we

will turn earth

and pick dirt

from beneath

our nails

we welcome

the songs of finches

doves and starlings

every year

it is the same

we grow

tomatoes

cucumbers

raspberries

strawberries

black-eyed susans

snap dragons

we give life

and tend it

and then enjoy

the fruits of our labour

in the fall

we say farewell

to this

little paradise

until next spring

every year

it is the same

and it calms me