First of Many Years

Snowflakes descend gently

As if on angel’s wings

Perennials wake, still sleepy

In Winter’s covering

The snowdrop bows in sunlight

Its petals place a kiss

Upon the yellow aconite

Spring’s sweet tenderness

Green ivy vines lay low

Lining paths of hidden spaces

Lush, the garden grows

Dewey soil, prepared with places

Clouds all shed their tears

Love draws near our spirits

Hearts, weighted with fear

You’re slowly brought forth, near it

The sun pierces the veil

The clouds, enshrouding light

The air, heavy and stale

Sorrow’s song takes to flight

The birds hover in thermals

Flowers emerge with blades

Summer’s caterpillars

Winged beauty, fly with grace

Earth cracks open; thirsty; parched

New grass, checkered patches of green

Summer to Fall slowly parts

Morning dew on ground; leaves of sheen

Winter arrives with the wind

Snow crystals glimmer with dawn

Flakes, still, capturing the glint

Silence, draws mother and fawn

Perennials wake, again, with cold

Full cycle, though, painfully long

First, of the years to unfold

Since your beauty, from earth, has been gone

Life bursting forth in the Spring

My mind reflects all that I miss

Tears slowly fall , ’membering

The warmth of your hug and kiss

Tracing lines in my mind; your hands

Aged with the beauty of time

Passing, through my fingers like sands

Seeing yours in the aging of mine

You were there, in each passing day

And, then, in a moment not at all

The date, etched in stone above your grave

Stone; cold and impersonal

Photo credit: Spring Kiss; Amberg Anna