Poem: Rites of Spring

Under afternoon sun
and wing-shadows,
plant anise seeds
sinking your promises deep
into dark, heavy soil.
Kneel by the ephemeral pool
in the field
to listen to the spring peepers’
chorus rise,
let the sound fill you
until you are re-harmonized
with the sound of life.
Lift your eyes to meet a deer’s gaze
in the cedar trees
across the water.
Watch bats dip
and dive over thin dry grasses
as the sun sets
in stripes of purple and pink.
Sit behind the house
as darkness falls,
listening to bullfrogs and nightsong.
Listen to footsteps
between the trees
even though it has become
too dark
to see what it is that’s there.
Hear the high, faint calls
of geese crossing the sky
as stars begin to peek between
black branches.
Feel small and quiet
and alive.
Blow kisses and wishes
to a golden moon
on the rise.
Sprinkle jasmine
and lavender
into hot wax
and watch thin curls
of smoke carry your blessings
into the night.

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