Nature wakes north latitude with a warm and lingering caress
Woods rouse themselves from winter’s dreams
To put on springtime dress
Witch hazel’s spiky flowers curl when snow still covers ground
Willows next from slumber rise
And wave their yellow arms around
Forsythia — that excited child — jumps from its winter bed
And greets the day with lemon smiles
While maples blush from green to red
Intrepidly the forest hue is painted as in art
Form comes first then color clings
To Nature’s living heart.
Jane Paquet has played with words since she learned to speak. She is a teacher at the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School.