MERTENSIA VIRGINICA
And now it’s time for the Virginia bluebellsto take center stage, their shy sky-blue flowers
slowly opening from tight pink buds into full-
throated song. If I listen closely, I might
even hear them ring in the wind. The fiddly
ferns are uncurling behind them,
little bass clefs. Hyacinths and daffodils
are all but forgotten until next year,
their inevitable return. Gloria. It’s not
that sorrow has retreated, left on the outgoing
tide, but rather, that this sweet breeze
has kissed me awake again, reminding me
that I’ve got a crush on Spring, and listen,
it’s reciprocal
~Barbara Crooker
