AFTER WINTER May Contest

Winter is but a memory
cold days and even colder nights
with hardwoods all standing leaf free.
Minimalist, near sere, all in sight.

But now when I step outside
warm air washes over me.
Butterflies dip, swoop and glide
and blossoms adorn each fruit tree.

Wild birds each sing out their love song;
here and there dappled fawns are seen
while the days slowly become long.
The whole world has turned emerald green.

Pollen flavors every breath
but brings sneezes in exchange,
Some almost cough themselves to death.
It scarce affects me ain't that strange?

Shorts reveal pale winter skin
and many shirts are minus sleeves.
Gaining a tan will now begin
as the trees don this year's leaves,

I well recall my long past spring
when so many years confronted me.
( when I thought that I knew everything )
Before I'd learned to simply Be.

So many springs and so much past.
So many seasons left behind.
Some coming spring will be my last.
But I'll ban That thought from my mind.