VICTORY SONG In turbulence when Winter battles Spring The meadowlark arrives and lifts its voice. Winter blasts to drown the fluted notes Afraid the lark’s bright song will break its bonds. One bird exalts, another echoes back In never-changing song of confidence, A melody that bridges restless fields Recalling now what glory lies ahead. Then Winter blows again with freezing breath. Tenaciously the lark will not retreat. A crack resounds, the daffodils awake, They fling their golden heads in liberty. And note by note a living rhythm springs, In swelling of the lark’s ice-breaking song.
FRUIT BLOSSUM FLIGHT What bears them up when hills are uniformed in snow the drifts crouched in shadow? How fragile hangs the bounty in these blossomed congregations shimmering like pearls. The dreams of seasons carried within, summer cherries, apples of fall. The tranquility of bees as they mine the fragrance to spark the prize. What impulse drives this precarious flight, their pageantry by day? And the risk of a clear star-glazer night with frosty knife. Or the comfort of shrouding clouds to fill the seasons. What bears this desperate swing, from empty trees to harvest fruit? Is it the cost, the knowledge with gratitude, of just how close the knife falls between the sorrow and sweetness?
Mark Weinrich is a cancer survivor, a retired pastor, gardener, hiker, and musician. He has had over 435 poems, articles, and short stories published in numerous publications, some include THE UPPER ROOM, BIRDS AND BLOOMS, NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE, IDEALS, THE SECRET PLACE, and LIVE. He has also sold eight children’s books and currently has two fantasy novels on Kindle.
Grand Little Things 