In Spring by John Muro

Winter’s teetering and

certain to fall, with sap

rising in wooding hills,

new-leaf-pungent, silted

trails in mud-thick thaw,

and everywhere buds of

hardwood ooze scarlet

and wisps of smoke, like

lassos, spool back and

harden into burl knots

of blue while the soft

percussions of bird song

continue to hurt hearts

and confound ear. Closer

in, the doleful thud of

hooves, the soft stutter

of loose gravel and breath’s

taken by a shambling wind

burdened with scents of

cedar and musk of dung

wafting past as the silver

gristle of frosted mulch turns

back into a breezy blur

of grass and three-starred

trillium purples stream

banks and pasture and

all the world’s at last

unspun from stupor and

just come back to life.

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John Muro, a resident of Connecticut, had his first volume of poems, In the Lilac Hour, published by Antrim House in 2020. The book is available on Amazon. A two-time, 2021 Pushcart Prize nominee, John’s poems have been published in several literary journals and anthologies, including Barnstorm, Euphony, Grey Sparrow, River Heron, Sky Island and Trouvaille Review. His second volume of poems, Pastoral Suite, will be published by Antrim House later this spring. You can visit John on Instagram @johntmuro.