vernally speaking

I only noticed today
three days late 
how the first day of Spring
had come and gone
and I am worried

I used to celebrate
carry pussy willows 
to sad friends
wear shorts to work
despite the cold
greet the equinox
like Ed McMahon
with my Clearinghouse millions

new angles in the morning sun
and songbird dances at dawn
were lost in the troubled shadow
of tax returns 
and car inspection stickers

today it is not the first day
Spring whispered in on my blind side
crept through the grass
floated in with warmer tide
in spite of my winter regret

the first day of Spring
has come and gone
and I am worried


		© Chuck Beals   March 23, 1999