May
The cunning violets who laid
low in last week’s frost, unfurl now
with the perfect purple rectitude of violets.
A lithe butterfly rows the cumbersome
extravagance of its white silk wings
through the sun-thick air over
constellations of dandelions.
On the hillsides the feral apple trees
froth out in bloom wherever
the happenstance of scat has
scattered them.
CHRISTINE GELINEAU is the author of three full-length books of poetry: Crave from NYQ Books; Appetite for the Divine, winner of the McGovern Prize from Ashland Poetry Press and Remorseless Loyalty, winner of the Snyder Prize, also from Ashland. Read more.