High in the blue sky
Six gulls harass a buzzard,
Squealing like children
Shielding coveted candies
From a bully’s greedy grasp.

The mist rises like steam
Over the dew-wet meadow;
Catkins like tassels
Swing silently in a breeze
On a morning soft as felt.

In the forest shade,
Bluebells bob in green moss waves,
Like blue-capped bathers
Stretching winter-weary limbs
In a sea warmed by spring sun.

In the warm sunbeam
I close my eyes and conjure
The wind on my skin
And raindrops soft as feathers
And the gift of a child’s grin.

Today a sunbeam
Slipped through my curtained window
Soothing my sad soul –
A mother’s tender caress
On a frightened child’s forehead.

A bee buzzed by –
Hovered by a cherry blossom,
Over the shell-pink petals,
Then, distracted by a daffodil,
Changed its course.

Sometimes, in the rain,
I see a child splash in puddles.
How has an umbrella
Become my jailer
When the raindrops are free?