Hens and roosters — wild violets at Banner Mountain Homeplace
Spring is
as warm as sun on robin’s breast
as soft as yarn in blackbird’s nest
as cool as breezes when they blow
as white as gentle flakes of snow
as tasty as sunflower seeds
or nasty as tough bitterweeds––
polecat babies in black and white,
who stir a stink in dark of night
tornado winds that scalp the hills
and crack the eggs of whippoorwills––
a “fraidy hole”––a cellar deep
where even greenish frogs can creep
a rain surprise in hasty splash
that brings forth thunder with a flash
newborn kittens in loft of hay
song of sparrow at end of day––
dogwood blossoms in Arkansas,
a welcome time chock-full of awe.
© Freeda Baker Nichols
Freeda Baker Nichols 