"April is cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain."

I sat in the backyard today and watched a spring storm come towards my door. My 12 year black cat sat behind me hiding from blue jays. The yard is in a state of decay, leaves on the ground are turning brown and turning under soil with new green grass sprouting in patches. On the fence wisteria is blooming.

The panhandle has two seasons, green and greener. A constant reminder that we don't renew ourselves with the spring summer spring 2 two week winter spring summer cycle. Seasonal ennui is clogging my ears and nose. I am looking forward to July in Knoxville and the fall in Athens.

A Frozen Dog

I'm jealous of the Spring
And all the things left to decay in the yard
Because things that are gentle never survive
Bloom for awhile then die.

Like a summer dress torn and left on the floor
Or dangling from an edge of a chair
Or an ally cat that doesn't creep until four
Sleeping beneath the bloom

Or waiting for someone who doesn't return.
Waiting everyday on the gray of the shore
Or a dead dog frozen from a winter ago
Looking up to some other blue sky

Or a breeze before rain comes in your window
In the kitchen while washing your hands
Or a dream in the day in the backseat alone
Flooded with the last lights of sun

I believe I wasn't made for this world
Assume if I change at all
Beneath this canopy of spring
It won't matter at all.