The springtime greening of the woods, the stippling of light green leaves,
means the masking of native dogwoods, the camouflaging of squirrels
racing over tree roots, teetering on logs crossing Rattlesnake Creek,
the thickening of the veil obscuring our view of trains traveling half empty
of commuters, of an occasional passing parkway car or human hunting
Civil War relics—arrowheads, coins, bullets–metal detector humming,
the carpeting of front yards and forest floors, inviting bare feet and toes
to press into soggy lawns, an aggregate of grass, moss, dandelion, clover,
cultivated ground covers like lily of the valley, each touch a different tickle,
the multiplication of fig leaves, among the last to sprout, the hope of a late
summer harvest of ripening fruit, a taste of Mediterranean heritage
in a Virginia garden along with grapevines for gathering tender leaves,
the brave movement of chipmunks from their protected backyard home
to an exposed world visited by humans lounging on lawn chairs and benches,
seeking rejuvenation in the landscape warmed and lighted by sunrays,
the relinquishing of stardom by solid hued azaleas—lavender, fuchsia, ruby—
to hybrid Ben Morris in variegated red on white, by winter pansies, hyacinths,
and tulips to peonies, roses and hydrangeas in pink, white, lavender and blue,
the anticipation of a rise in hummingbirds, only two sited in April,
one the deepest, brightest emerald green along with exponential
increase in flying flourish—butterflies, bumble bees, dragonflies,
as we’re cocooned in greening trees, a symphony of birdsong, surround
sound, with vibrant feathered gemstones visiting feeders—the sapphire of
blue jays, garnet of cardinals, citrine of goldfinches, zircon of blue birds,
at home and in nature, we’re shut in, peace and protection guiding us,
so easy for the veil to thicken, allowing us to forget those at war, beyond
our boundaries of safety and security, fighting in a pandemic world.
© 2020 Cathy Hailey
Bio:
Cathy Hailey is a poet from Prince William County, Virginia. Retired from a forty-year career teaching English and Creative Writing for Prince William County Schools, Cathy teaches as an adjunct in Johns Hopkins University’s online MA in Teaching Writing program. She is the Northern Region Vice President of the Poetry Society of Virginia and organizes In the Company of Laureates, a biennial reading of poets laureate held in Prince William County. Cathy enjoys collaborating with visual artists and musicians. Her writing has been published in Poetry Virginia and The Journal of the Virginia Writing Project and in small anthologies associated with special projects—usually ekphrastic collaborations. Poems are forthcoming in Written in Arlington and the Prince William County Poetry Review.
Donation Appeal:
Throughout June and July, we will be presenting on this web site work by poets and artists responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you will find these works relevant, comforting and inspiring as we all cope with the economic and health-related fallout.
As you view the work on this site each day, we would like to encourage you to donate to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). Their mission “ is to feed our neighbors in need by providing dignified access to supplemental groceries. AFAC is seeing a record number of families due to the COVID-19 pandemic as families who never thought they would ever be in need are now showing up at our doors for much needed food.” And, in keeping with our hunger-focused efforts, you may also want to visit the Poetry X Hunger website where poems by many poets are posted and are being used by anti-hunger organizations.”
Throughout June and July, we will be presenting on this web site work by poets and artists responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you will find these works relevant, comforting and inspiring as we all cope with the economic and health-related fallout.
Please consider donating to AFAC. If you do, let us know which poet or artist inspired you so we can send you a personal thank you.
