HOLD ON, SUMMER'S COMING

Mornings I shuffle to the thermostat

to bump it up a few degrees and think

I’ll be opening windows in a few weeks.

I’ll be soaking up rays of sunshine as

I rake leftover leaves from fall and sow

grass seed in an attempt to have a lawn.

We’ll put begonias in the flower boxes

with orange marigolds, blue ageratums,

and get excited buying tomato plants.

We’ll straighten the rocks around the

bed where the perennials come up and

we’ll pull weeds from the patio’s cracks.

I’ll cook hot dogs and burgers on the grill,

drink a few beers after cutting the grass.

I’ll listen to a baseball game on the radio,

sit in a plastic Adirondack chair,look up

at the stars in the sky and be thankful for

all I have and glad that winter is long gone.