Cherry blossoms upon brittle limbs
brave the last chill, the wake of winter.
Gathered lovers, having shed buds
from hibernation, adorn pastel dresses
of heavy chiffon, the color of faded hearts.
Waiting for warmer touches
the soft ebb of spring’s smitten sun.
Knowing
the ground awaits their fleeting bloom.
Okay then! I finally got to sit down and read this without freaking about “getting stuff done”! And I love it. It’s beautiful, and beautifully “minimal” (I’d compare it to a haiku or something, but that would be kind of cliche…).
And the interior rhymes and assonances are great–again, very subtle, but they hold it all together. I tend not to like very overt rhyme schemes (unless they’re done by someone who’s REALLY good at it–like maybe Shakespeare 🙂 ), but the sounds of a poem–the things that make it a little like music–seem really important to me.
How do you do “digital doodles” (because the image is also gorgeous–seriously)? As an Extremely Old person 🙂 , that’s not something I’ve tried yet!
Thanks so much Nancy! I’m in complete agreement with rhyme and Shakespeare. I did feel a little Haiku-ish writing this piece. If you can, try Adobe Illustrator for a free trial run. I would suggest watching their tutorials. You can use a mouse or a pad to start drawing then tidy things up. I’m old too. Great to hear from you!
“A little Haiku-ish” is a good thing, in my opinion! It’s just that there don’t seem to be many people who do it well (myself included) these days, but try anyway. I appreciate experimenting with established forms, but one needs a decent understanding of the original (and very strict!) form first. But your poem just has that kind of lightness and grace and simplicity, and, of course, focus on the workings of the season.
Maybe I’ll try Illustrator, just for kicks! I don’t draw well (sometimes I get lucky), but I love to create images with pencils/charcoal, paint, and my camera. This could add another dimension to that!
There’s different parameters to Illustrator to allow for images to be created without drawing. It’s versatile and you can find your own way of doing things on it. My personal take on form is that I believe people need to read as much they can and think about what they’ve read (form, style, meanings, etc., etc.) before they themselves create good verse or prose. An initial “talent” can go only so far without adding skills to the mix.
MoonCat 
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