In this winterless land
New grass is already green
On the rough western hills
Two crows dispute on a cypress
And singing birds ornament the air
And the heart with joy
Yellow mimosa flowers tremble
Like new love
Silently fig and guava trees
Create their fruit for summer
Dove gallants bow and beseech
Pretend-indifferent-alluring mates
Two handsome coyotes paired for life
Come down the mountain at dawn and dusk
And give me the pleasure of their knowing gaze
Spring tries to assert its being
In lyric ways unknown to the single season.
From Told in the Seed and Selected Poems (Muse Ink Press, 2021) by Sanora Babb. Copyright © 1998 by Sanora Babb. Reprinted by permission of the literary estate of Sanora Babb.