spring

Spring has arrived
finally

Barn swallows return from their winter retreat
The males are the first to return
They peep and cheep
They chatter and chirp
Arguing with one another for the best nesting spots

Spring has arrived
finally

The snow is just about gone
Melting into mud
Mud is everywhere
Mud is all over everything
The roads and sidewalks, the cars and trucks, the dogs and children, our shoes and boots, the floors and rugs, my pants and socks

Spring has arrived
finally

The snow drops are blooming beside the stonewall
Croci are peeking out from the leaf litter
A snowbank is replaced by a mob of daffodils
The field is greening
Maple trees are topped by a red haze of buds
Color has returned, gone are the whites and grays of winter

Spring has arrived
finally

The warmth inside the greenhouse
Is comforting like a warm blanket or a hot bath
Like a womb for our tiny plants
As they germinate and sprout
Breath deep the fertile air

Spring has arrived
finally

Life begins again



From napowrimo:  Taking our cue from today’s craft resource, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that includes images that engage all five senses. Try to be as concrete and exact as possible with the “feel” of what the poem invites the reader to see, smell, touch, taste and hear.

heart strings

The first time you left me
  you were only five and I put you on the school bus
  alone and without me.
 
What will you learn on the school bus, at school
  will you find friend or foe on the playground
 will your teachers raise you up or belittle your creativity
  the influences of the "big bad world".

My apron strings, my heart strings, connect me to you
you stretch them as you grow
as your world grows
snap back, come home to me.

The second time you left me
  we dropped you and three guitars, seven boxes, and five duffel bag
  on the curb in front of your dorm
  I sobbed all the way home, my heart ached with loss.

What will you learn at college
   will your find friends or lovers
  will you be mugged, or worse, in the city
   how will you develop your creativity
  how will you grow, what will you learn.
  
My apron string, my heart strings, connect me to you
are stretched so tight, they pull so hard, my heart hurts. 


The next time you left me
   did we even notice
   you just grew up
  you come home, and visit
   you bring new friends
  you bring your love.

My apron string, my heart strings, connect me to you
  they are infinitely stretchy
  they can reach around the world to where you are
  and rejoice in your discoveries.
 
My heart strings, connect me to you
  this summer my heart strings will sing 
  they will stretch around the family you are creating
  My heart strings will ache with happiness and cry with joy.


~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Today's prompt from NaPoWriMo urges us to use concrete expressions to describe an abstract idea.

NaPoWriMo 2018  a poem a day for the month of April.

The challenge awaits...