April Snows

it is april 4

the official beginning of spring is long past us

vermont was ready for spring before that,

our grayish-green sunlit adirondacks forcing the clouds

to hold in their snow and rain and part

for their queen the sun.

it is april 4

the daffodil fairies are stretching, yawning

getting ready to dress in vibrant golds and whites and push open the petals of their homes

the snowdrops are already out, but as always, they are too shy to look at anything but the ground

the crocuses are showing their colors from inside the safety of their bulbs, but they'll follow the others' example soon enough.

it is april 4

we are starting to ignore the snow pants and ski jackets and gloves and hats and scarves

hanging on our hooks and shoved in the deepest crevices of our backpacks

because we all seem to think spring will fully bloom sooner if we only wear boots and a fleece with the hood pulled up.

it is april 4

and we are looking out the window and saying that

that old rhyme, april showers bring may flowers,

clearly wasn't written for normality-disregarding vermont,

because it didn't say anything about snow.