Sonnet Sunday 75: Seasonal

Today’s poem was written for the 2016 Poem a Day challenge on the theme of something that happens regularly. One of the things I love about living in Michigan is the cycle of the seasons: Summer heat makes me appreciate Winter’s frozen beauty, which makes me appreciate spring’s rebirth, which makes me appreciate Fall’s bounty. And now that we’re hitting Winter pretty strongly again, I fully intend to appreciate it… and therefore appreciate Spring when it returns.

Seasonal

Originally written November 13, 2016

The days grow darker. Frost covers the ground.
The blades of grass stand stiff and silver-edged
Like soldiers lost in battle. Scarce a sound
Arises—seems all living things have fled
To warmer climates. Still though, here and there,
A splotch of red—a cardinal takes wing.
Its cheerful song may catch you unaware
And make you hope and long again for Spring,
When trees aren’t barren, blackened silhouettes
When seeds aren’t dormant in the bitter ground,
When dry, cracked leaves don’t fall in pirouettes,
When greening life may be found all around:
Few can appreciate Spring much more than
The freezing residents of Michigan.