buds – leaf and twig

Protection

last year’s thorns
guard
this year’s growth

color gathers
like drops of sunshine
in daffodils readying blooms

a green day dream
the whispering of leaf buds
the laughter of leaves

tiny blue flowers
joy enough
to dispel doubt

finery
of frost
a frozen flowering

testing patience
and tender buds
winter lingers

tiny buds
open into
the bloom of community

shelter in the rhododendron
waiting out winter
alongside flower buds

intoxicating
flutter and glow
a dreamland of poppies

the circumstance of spring
a clarion call
to courage in beauty

putting the garden to bed
a startling glimpse of spring
the foreshadowing anemone

blushing bud
opens to claim
full pure beauty

closed buds pucker
petals preparing for
their showering of kisses

so sweet the day
the air brand new
each moment blooms before me

Branches blush as buds begin to swell.
Subtly color creeps into the landscape.