lilacs, 2018

it was not lost on me that

the day you closed the door for good

was the day I noticed tiny green buds

stubbornly pushing their way

through the tips of the branches

of my lilacs.

it’s been unseasonably warm

I’m sure they’ve been a bit misled

but then I’m also pretty sure they’ll be fine

maybe spring isn’t quite here yet

but winter’s not coming back either

at least, not for more than a touch

and I can always put them under plastic

if I remember.

I probably won’t.

I’m distracted by

the way things might have gone

by closing doors

by the inevitable and the irreversible

by things that could have been

but aren’t

by wondering if my lilacs

got cold enough to flower,

learning now too late that

there was more I should have cut away

to help them bloom

poem (c) 2018 D. Ohlandt

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