Watching and Waiting

Watching and Waiting

In South Mississippi, we can hardly wait for our two or three weeks of winter to be over. I’ve been watching carefully for any signs of spring. Watching for a pot that will never boil, as the old saying goes, has nothing on watching for a bud to bloom. To distract myself, I decided to have some fun as I try my hand at a bit of flamenco.

            Outwaiting a Bulb

 

I’m weary of sweaters,          

bone tired of being cold.        

Yet surprise awaits                 

that February day –                  

a bud in yellow bold.             

 

Anticipation soars                  

bulged beside the sidewalk.   

Yet I wait for days,                

that bud remaining closed,     

forever in a balk.                    

 

            Snowflakes

 

The sidewalk’s other side                  

blossoms out with snowflakes,          

swinging merrily,                               

without any waiting –                        

sun and time – all it takes.                 

 

            Bluets

 

Other spring foretokens                     

beneath my walking feet,                   

where I’m not watching,                    

flowering bluet clusters                     

bring memories that are sweet.          

 

            Wait Over

 

Surprise comes one morning.

The bud has burst apart.         

Yellow trumpet glows .          

A gorgeous daffodil               

was hidden in its heart!          

 

            Moral?

 

Aesop had a moral                             

where’er his tale might wend.           

Could I find one here?                                   

Pay attention to now.             

Spot the joy before the end.