Spring:
Spring Rains Were Late That Year
Brassy sun wilts tender wheat yellow
shrivels corn into hollow husks as pigs
pant in dry wallow below the rattling windmill.
Worn out with waiting for the grace of rain
my German grandfather curses the blank sky.
Spring March
Spring trumpets its arrival with a band -
clashing colors, gaudy parrot tulips,
raucous birds strutting their territories,
squirrels dashing in delirious frenzy.
Spring is gawky colts and lavish excess.
Spring races green and juicy and foolish
through our veins as we walk barefoot in mud
until our toes cramp, garden far too long
on the first mild day, twirl in children’s play.
Spring shouts, Winter is over, hurray, hurray,
Come out and celebrate this day.
Spring Sunday
I walked my meditation this morning,
cleansed and shriven by fresh wind,
a doe with tender twins calmly approving.
Clouds disintegrated as I passed into my home
sudden sun spotlighting a vase of lazy yellow
tulips, a dish of dimpled strawberries.
Sunshine, flowers, fruit, and fawns -
more than enough.
On My Birthday
Some of my friends fear birthdays,
never tell their age or weight,
veto celebrations and frosted cakes.
Not me. Despite pounds and wrinkles,
I’m grateful to have been granted
another year. Just an ordinary year—
work, leisure, friends and family,
affections deepening with time.
I learned some things and forgot others.
I had my share of sorrow - and
maybe more than my share of joy.
Just an ordinary year,
an extraordinary gift.
Our Jubilee Year
for my husband
My love, as we prepare to celebrate
our semicentennial anniversary,
I’m reminded that we are also in
our fiftieth year together in marriage.
The Old Testament speaks of such
fiftieth years as years of Jubilee,
years in which debts and sins
are forgiven, slaves set free,
and everyone returns home. Lucky
us to be planning just that.
Three sons, three daughters-in-law,
five grandchildren—all gathered
together with us in Jackson Hole,
alongside Grand Tetons National Park.
A week of presence, the best gift of all—
hiking, bird-banding, parade and rodeo,
fireworks, exploring, maybe horseback
riding and float trips, communal feasts,
cousins renewing their friendship,
brothers, sisters-in-laws and grandparents
sharing laughter, love, and memories.
Lucky to be debt-free (or almost),
slave-free and, if in sin, mostly minor ones.
Celebrating longevity but much more—
celebrating growth even when sometimes
we seemed to be standing still,
Celebrating strength even when weak,
Celebrating unity even when separate.
Celebrating forgiveness and love. . .
and family.
Yours forever,
Your loving wife
