we dim the lights 
for the millions overhead —
migration season

maple tree seedlings
popping up in the garden —
who will tell them?

a life of second thoughts  —
every fish I've ever caught
thrown right back in

a sheen of pollen
laid over the morning —
we wake up sneezing

leaves slowly moving
learning to follow the sun —
the baby's fist uncurls

fierce dandelions
already going to seed —
so many wishes

April full moon —
bright enough to read by
close enough to touch

witch hazel we thought
had succumbed to winter's abuse —
alive after all!

when there was no more
room in the earth for water
it flooded the fields

frost warning —
the way we look at the ground
when the words won't come

white dogwood blossoms
holding on despite the wind —
I call my oldest friend

fresh ingredients
I add to my afternoon nap —
sunlight through new leaves

robins in the grass
filling their beaks with twigs —
nest-building season

value-added —
tiny spring peepers
crank up their volume

convincing myself
that the fox I saw was real —
late night walk home

the way my father
taught me about translucence —
simmering onions

mid-April sunshine —
new leaves not yet big enough
to slow its embrace

service berry —
white blossoms whispering
the earth's for digging

murdering ivy —
just leave it here in a 
stranded, tangled pile

morning buffet —
a deer calmly works its way
across our front yard

finally alone,
I unwind my feelings —
grief at the center

still thinking about
crescent moon cut-outs —
eclipses and bat wings

after the eclipse
we see a bat zooming off
in search of true night

the sweet challenge of
keeping an orchid alive —
letting myself care

white pear blossoms
alongside cherry tree pinks —
ready for more sun

cherry trees in bloom —
the kindergartners have learned
to write their own names

almost bursting with
the idea of buds —
April tree branches

no sign of the sun —
a list of flooded roads
floods my phone

turns out that bunny
while fleeing from a fox
set me as a pick

robins and bluejays
already up and yelling —
more daylight again