Equinoxial Perspectives

Paralysis, Persistence, Progress

In the ground in a frozen land of mud and dirt
those who chose hibernation near the surface
earthworms slowly come out of relative paralysis
sucking in muddy earth churned by footprints
persisting and surfacing into warm sunlight
only to have their struggles seen from a
birds eye perspective view from the barn
or any number of nearby budding treetops
birds sweep down before the worms escape
worms provide breakfast for her three fledglings
they open their mouths with mute begging
mother provides them with juicy worm segments
from the bird mother’s perspective life continues
from worm’s segmented existence more sediment.

a boy shoots a few ducks and shore birds along
the pond and river nearby his home in the valley
a meager meal for his two brothers and sisters
Mother makes some hearty cornmeal pancakes
delicious smothered with blackstrap molasses
they have hot cups of cocoa late that afternoon
with saltine crackers and peanut butter on top
Daddy brings a spring buck deer into the basement
spills its guts open filling the room with pine needle
scent from its last hillside forest meal out back
I take the hot deer liver upstairs to my mother
she cuts it into half inch slices dredges it in flour
fries it in hot bacon grease in a cast iron skillet
its gone within an hour of coming into the house.
Spring comes to northern Appalachia in early March
throughout the Allegheny Plateau trees are red in bud.

Writes of Spring: Forward March

“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke, born Prague 1875, died Montreux 1926

The Ides of March has Caesar salad as a daily lunch special
The rides of March have rabbits hopping down the bunny trail
During glides in March fruit bats come home late to hang out
March finds worms covering holes with their own excrement
The tides of March reveal many sea cucumbers on the beach
The bona fides of March always has Spring growth on the menu
Stravinski’s Rite of Spring is a ballet about the creativity of Spring
The sights of Spring sooth many sore eyes tired of dark Winter
The rights of Spring bring green growth and life over natural death
Many nights of Spring bring cool temperatures and misty mornings
The delights of Spring bring wildflower blooms in desert places
The fights of Spring are eternal between budding growth and frost
The mights of Spring are manifested by flora bursting from earth
The plights of Spring bring its demise as warm days bring Summer.