I swear.
Once I heard an Oriole
Riffing with John Coltrane on a sunny day
Just outside our open window
It was the first day of spring
Equinox was the song
*
Here in the swamp
Back da bush
The frogs are incessant
Incessant in their song of life
*
Sing me into this new world
I have been resurrected again
Waking up from the dream world
I rise from the frozen mud
Despite once indistinguishable
Only moments ago
One and the same
From Mother Earth
Only moments ago
Silent as death
Yet I rise and sing to the sun
I sing to the clouds
I sing to the rain
I sing for the water creatures
I sing for the land creatures
I sing for the in-betweens
I sing for the creatures in this world
I sing for the creatures in the Dream World
I sing for myself and for life
I sing the blossoms exploding
**
Flowers light the way to Medicine Plants and berries
Wild roses follow along the trail and then
Those myriad tiny orchid blossoms tangerine with bright red tips
The wind blows and they dance like schools of angel fish
White flowers amongst thorns promise luscious blackcaps
Ready to be picked just before Powwow song and dance
Rivulets of sweet joy run down Sugar Maple and Black Walnut
The Maple reveals golden amber delight
In the Black Walnut - decadent dark chocolate ambrosia
Molasses thick with sweet medicine and magic
Smoke fills the sugar shack
Children share memories of the Forest Fall Fair
Steam clouds filled with the aroma of cotton candy float
in the air
***
The robins flock and boss their way around the yards
The crimson cardinal, the blue of the Jay, the yellow
of finches flash
The trumpet of the swans, the whoop of the cranes beckon beyond
The revealing patterns in the drumming of the woodpecker’s version
of song
The tickety tick tap tapping of little striped ones feverishly
hopping from this branch to the next one
The feisty red heads that find a branch that can boom and spend
the day pounding on it like the reincarnation of Keith Moon
The Pileated that is the size of a duck but rarely seen revealed
only by its distinct heavy hammering knock knock
Though last spring with my 3 red headed grandchildren in truck
We saw 3 Pileated Woodpeckers all sitting together on that
stump
I could practically touch the trio they were that near
Perhaps one day the legendary Ghost Bird will appear
***
Word will soon come that old so and so hooked some bass out where
no will say
Springtime explodes in Kettle and Stoney Point in a glorious
way
Explodes with color, sweetness, song, magic and life
Explodes like thousands of frogs singing after a warm spring
rain
Explodes like Orioles riffing to Equinox with John Coltrane.
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