Surprised~ By Jacqueline Coleman-Fried

A clear day in early spring.
The sun excites
my whole body.
A blessing.
 
We did not earn this
with months of snow and cold
like years before.
The buds of white snowdrops
 
raised their modest heads
at the usual time
for blizzards.
It wasn’t too soon.
 
Not long after,
more snowdrops emerged,
followed by exuberant
daffodils popping by a sidewalk.
 
Sunny forsythia
appeared on a hedge. Then
the abundant teardrops
of Pieris japonica
 
and a thicket of blue wildflowers
on last year’s grass.
Next, I was surprised by white magnolia
like a girl wearing eyelet lace
 
and mauve magnolia blossoms
the shape of tulips.
They’re coming, too,
when their erect heads finally burst.
 
But now is the moment
for cherry trees the color
of cotton-candy prom dresses,
some with their blooms raised to heaven,
 
others weeping earthward
like a ballerina’s tutu,
still others too cold and shy
to open.
 
One sunny lane
is a wedding--
the gutter lined, up and down,
with pink petals.
 

Author Bio:
Jacqueline Coleman-Fried is a poet and essayist living in Tuckahoe, NY. Her work appeared recently in The Voices Project, for which she is grateful.