timid thaw from appreciates you. by joseph biss

big old birch tree swinging on down
power knocked flat rotten straight through
like where my fingers meet the nail
more fitting of my age
my face is a liar
the mirror shows no experience
yet i've learned
and since forgot
more than some ever will

with a symphony of spring peepers
winter's soliloquy comes to an end
a sprung spring strut
has the starlings making nest
a many morel morning
always gives
to a manic afternoon

branches break from the weight
of something oh so sweet
apples mush into peaches
with little difference we eat them all

forsythia flowers fumble
to shake away mid-april snow
still faring better than the hibiscus
now laying down, down, down
though
fret not
come midday
they'll steal the show

the first full yawn only comes
once you stop trying to
the final frost froze
the day after they sowed their seeds
as for i
i wait
for the flying squirrel
on the apple tree

branches break from the weight
of something oh so sweet
long enough for the drupe’s hard pits
to settle in our soft stomachs

• Folk
• folk
• psychedelic folk
• spoken word
• Lake George