Coming home well before sunset
(a rarity some days)
I ignored my to-do list
After days of gloom and chill
the warmer clime of the front porch beckoned.
I sat awhile
in the shade of the trees fully leafed
sipping a cold soda
thumbing through a catalog
reading a book
watching teenagers
making their way home from school.
Growing restless
I decided to water the potted plants
tucked into the corner of the porch
no need to be covered this year
(only a handful of frosty mornings)
their leaves still green
soil spilled all around by persistent squirrels
Walking around the side of my house
passing my gangly rose bush
already tipped with half a dozen deep pink blooms
newly planted evergreen bushes
sprouting buds on their short branches
Returning to the porch
a ray of sunlight caught me off guard
I wanted more
So I stood in the driveway
eyes closed but flooded with bright
heat blooming on my thighs
basking in the warmth of early spring.
What a gift, those moments of warmth after so much gloom and chill! All of these verses speak to me with images so real that I feel I'm standing in your shoes. The line that caught me most: "I wanted more." Me, too! Oh, to bask in that new light, that needed warmth. I love every line, even the "soil spilled all around by persistent squirrels." Can't blame 'em. I am especially happy - proud! - that you got home early and savored these moments.
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