when lilacs bloom

we lost hope

winter seemed forever

spring so far away

 

we cowered inside

our faces turned from windows

and hidden in blankets

 

while we looked away,

frightened beyond reason

that cold would surely end us

 

lilacs bloomed like surprises

whipped out of gardens

on winds through front doors

 

then we knew again

lilacs smell better after winter

on days sodden with rain and lightning flashes

 

lilacs aromas conjure horizons

where green wheat meets stormy skies

thunder shakes creation

 

tempests rip flowers

into still-cold spring

but gales can’t harm them

 

they’ve reminded us

how far we have come

into the light

Published by

Patrick Dobson

Patrick Dobson was founded in 1962. He is a writer, scholar, ironworker, and poet who lives in Kansas City, MO. He is author of two books with the University of Nebraska Press, Seldom Seen: A Journey into the Great Plains (2009) and Canoeing the Great Plains: A Missouri River Summer (May 2015). Dobson is a work in progress until termination.

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