cross posted from my facebook... yes, I'm on facebook....?!

This is from when I went to Princeton for a conference the weekend before last. I'm amused at traveling in spring time, because it feels like I go back and forth in the season. This past weekend I went to Bowling Green and went forward in time (all of their irises were out!) ... but there wasn't much time to stop and write.
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Oh Second Spring
with this trip I travel back in time to the prime of
daffodils, forsythia, spring beauty,
unbloomed violets, third trimester tree buds
heavy with anticipation.

my hands muddied by the pursuit of
a ramp, red leaved at the base

with this stream I am soothed,
what comes to mind are words not my own
"the bioremediation of the soul"
I am calmed by the stream's pace
not much faster than mine

I am filled with gratitude for the geese overhead
and delight in the waiting game of
spotted trout lilies, and spotting a few that have sprung.

I am in love with the muck of spring's birth
and contemplate a trip sometime in the future
where I could walk slowly
at the pace of springtime
north somewhere.

As predicted I feel the pull of obligation
back to this conference,
which has brought me to this place....
but not without acknowledging that it is
this woods that brought me --here--

For pete's sake! I want to know the steps of this dance
the details of the march these woods take
through the seasons
what to find when

I want to know and honor all of these small
green things.

I have not found my life's work,
but I am certain--
this learning is my life's joy.