The World Opens Up Again

Spring has finally hit Northern Michigan. The lilacs are in full bloom, dandelions poke their heads out a few days after a grass cutting, and the air warms and brightens. We're only given four months of this glorious scene each year, and I always look forward to it.

Every spring, once the semester has ended and I've decompressed from the work of the academic year, once I'm comfortable with open ended days, as well as time to read, something happens to me. I slow down, no longer running at break-neck speed, trying to get everything done at once. I no longer have to multi-task. For a few weeks, I don't know how to handle this transition.

Then I write a new poem. And the world opens up again.