Springtime In Louisiana

As I checked my mailbox
for this afternoon’s mail,
in the neighbor’s Bradford pear tree,
whose recently bare branches
now are suddenly all aflame
with clusters of small, white blossoms,
appearing like thousands
of bursting, puffy cotton bolls,
with just the merest hint of green
from new leaves yet unfurled,
a single splash of bright red
catches my eye. A male cardinal
sits mid-tree, cocking his head,
watching four hungry robins hopping
upon the brown but greening lawn below,
each looking for the first worm
that will be seduced
by the newly energized sun
to climb to the surface
to enjoy the warmth and glory
of the first 80-degrees day
of this year's spring.
Ahh, yes, springtime appears
to have arrived this morning…