a blink of may
and humid air
june is near
to curl our hair
just as leaf
arrived to bud
the smell has turned
to grass and mud
flash of yellow
citrine green
never were
at all it seems
and consolation
must be found
in deeper hues
and warmer ground
days of lilac
still to come
balmy winds
at last keep on
and bitterness
can blur and go
with open doors
and wide windows
and I’ll forgive
the stolen spring
if you forgive
each other thing.

This is what the Lord God showed me:
behold, a basket of summer fruit. -Amos 8:1

image: open window print by Gwen Ratermann

demi feet
and curled in toes
waddle wobble
happy pose
merry gasp
and elbows high
falter, plop
and ever rise
day by day
your eyes grow lighter
midnight blue
to sky and water
as your sister’s
did before you
just as her steps
planted surely
ducky boy
it’s you and she
that show the dim
to lighter be
with every pace
and starry face
your easy heart
illuminates.

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him.
-Psalm 37:23

image: First Steps, Pablo Picasso