Waiting for Spring

Winter’s cold grip
Firmly gray and old
Bare tree branches
All muted and browned

Sun hides silvery behind gray skies
Above the barren land
Yet hope will soon sprout
From today’s frozen ground

Sleeping seeds on winter’s rest
Will soon awake, arise
As sun grows stronger
And lingers longer

Soon they’ll burst in brilliant sprays
Of oranges, purples, yellows
With fragrant breezes taking flight
Causing hardened soul to mellow

January

Thirty days
Thirty dragging days
Plus one
One extra dragged-out day
Thirty one dragging days

Four weeks
Four long-winded weeks
Plus a few
Extra days
Weeks without end

You begin with a blast
As the world’s celebrations
Of light and love end
Dragging your feet through
Your coldest and darkest days

We regress to reality
Surrender our lives
To our oppressive obligations
Becoming submissive
Victims of oppressive systems

January deserves more light
Instead we endure
A heavy winter wait
A simple promise
Of brighter days