100 Days of Poetry: Days 51-55

First Spring Day

(tanka)

Afternoon rambling
Finally, t-shirt weather
Winter snow vanished
Breathing musky scent of spring
Alone, but smiling broadly

Swords and Souls

I will forever shudder
At the memory of my son
Mid seizure on the floor
His brother standing over my shoulder
Eyes wide with horror
Certain he has killed him
As I pray frantically
Willing the eyes to focus
The blue skin to turn pink
The shaking to stop
Pleading for my son to live

This same son
Fell out of a tree and onto a rock
Tumbled down flights of stairs
Twice
Suffered concussions
Twice

Motherhood is not for the faint of heart
With night visions of tragedy
Endless what ifs
And painful realities
A sword shall pierce through thine own soul also, he said
A prophecy for all mothers, it seems

And yet
The bear hugs
The sheer joy of moments on a mountaintop
The silliness of shared memories
The wonder of lives unfolding
Worth every gut-wrenching tear
Every late night wakeful hour
Every doubt that leaves a hole in the soul

Parents and Sports

Watching
My daughter play
Team volleyball, tension
Mounting with each serve and volley
Please win!

Symptoms

So
often dizzy
Two years of sluggish runs
Am I a hypochondriac?
Fix me!

Middle-Aged Woman Dilemma

Awful muffin top
Tight clothes, no willpower
Help me love hunger

Warm Day in Early Spring

(An attempt at a Curtal Sonnet)

Crisp, frosty morning, fresh air afternoon
Finally blinking my eyes in the sunshine
Unaccustomed to light, dripping sweat

Birdsong meets camp chatter, warm weather tune
Grateful for the shade of sheltering pine
Dreams of bike rides and swimming holes, and yet...

Frost again tomorrow, rain coming soon
Keep jackets near, it takes time to refine
a new season, until then a duet

Winter and summer play in counterpoint
Intersecting in spring, graceful vignette