~ Spring in the Bitterroots ~

springing between clouds
a quick bold flicker of sun
kisses me breathless

windblown clothesline
the lone shirt’s arms
wrap around itself

swollen river
a boulder’s hollow thud -
all night long

no blossoms this spring
old cherry tree stark and bare
where she used to play

scarlet and sodden
beneath melting spring snow -
her Christmas mitten

purple sky
forest’s sharp black silhouette
the first owl

pensive virgin field
awakes in sun’s warm embrace
flushes timid green

fresh scent of rich earth
hands urge new life to flourish
greenhouse birthing room

old friend
in the greening meadow
hungry deer

stream’s fluid music
leaps over smooth stones
ice lullabies

surging purple swells
unfurl across the west peak
clamoring rain

pond ice freed from shore
dancing in the brisk wind
glints

vivid violet
hyacinths flex and hum
a bumble bee

mountain twilight
wild turkeys on the ridge
one gunshot

steady plow turns soil
wide acres of fresh black earth
hunger for new life

chain saw buzz
dead larch crashes
new firewood

spring in strong rhythm
copious rain’s rousing beat
lively tin roof jazz