The Last Day of Winter

Light grey clouds cover the sky,
hiding its bright blue sheen.
The chilly wind drifts past,
making the world feel as cold
as a predator’s fierce gaze.
Anything is possible during
this time of transition.

But today the world waits
between winter and spring.
Wind carries dull clouds
across the muted sky.
Black birds rest
in bare branches
of slumbering trees, waiting
to quietly glide to the ground
where they gather
to consume abandoned seeds
never to take root.

A patch of blue
breaks through the
fleeting gloom.
The black birds
take flight, vanishing
into the distance
like winter’s final snow.
A flash of red drifts among
the stone-colored clouds.
The cardinal’s call echoes out
among the dreary land,
beckoning the coming spring.