Fresh Start - April 1 2022

 

Fresh Start

April 1 2022

Soon, the dogs will be shedding their winter coats.

Soft insulating fur

will give way to a stiff outer layer,

and there will be hair everywhere.

They will have that lean and hungry look,

and, like sundials

that aren't good at keeping time

will follow the patches of sun;

every once in a while

flopping down a few steps over,

where they will snooze noisily

in its welcome warmth.

Winter

has stripped the trees

of the dead branches and dry needles

that might have taken them down;

in an ice storm

or heavy wind,

the weight of snow.

They look sleek, from their winter diet,

the ground underneath

littered with debris.

Last fall, the grass withered

the lawn turned pale.

Thin and wan

and smothered by snow

it's hard to believe

it's still alive down there.

But is, of course,

its precious nutrients

reclaimed by the roots

to last the winter.

Come spring

new shoots will emerge

from a mat of dead brown grass,

and the rake will comb through the lawn

like a balding man

running his hand through his hair.

So as the days lengthen

and the sun ascends

the world sheds the past

to begin afresh.

If only we were so gifted;

reborn,

lighter and trimmer

and as eager to start.