Spring Mourning

It’s time again for the cherry trees to bloom
and the days to start stretching toward the clear blue sky.
I was just thinking about the way
the sidewalks become blanketed with petals
and the air takes on the smell of soil returning to life.

But this morning, there was snow on the grass
and the newly sprouted flowers were buried and conquered.
The world they were promised was much different from
the chill of the wind that blew through
the fragile new leaves of the trees.

And on days like this, when I zip my coat up under my chin
I become desperate for something to change.
It is almost harder to know how close we are to warmth,
than it was in the dead of winter.
It’s sadder to see the new flowers lose against the freeze
when they are illuminated by the clear cold sun.