Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 36 : Spring 2018 | Page 48

Song Of A
Spring Flower
by Catherine Shaw Bowker
Silently, I linger;
sleeping beneath the protection of
the cool, white quilt.
Your icy hand resting
on the balsam pillow o’er my head
elicits caution.
Slowly I awake,
yet I do not stir lest you perceive
my anticipation.
If you should discover
my intention to spring forth, your cold breath may
stall my rebirth.
Calmly I await
the day my face will once again
turn toward the sun.
Existing only days or weeks
or, perhaps plucked from my home
soon as I appear,
fleeting though it is,
my life explodes with joyful glory
and ebullience.
Still, I am content
delivering life, hope, love and peace
to this cruel world.
Oh, dear heartless Winter
I am victorious; I am alive,
if only for now.
46
SPRING 2018