winter turns over in its sleep
to deeper cold

does not thaw bees 
with no real work to do

house-heat elbows summer memories 
the ease of taking inside out 

purple and yellow lie low
violent growth tucked tight

folded-up dreams 
twitch a weak push 

futile wish for unwrap
no cracks show

discontent 
broods 

on human time 
too fast

on vegetable pulse 
too slow

anything confined 
aches to break-out 

to wave about 
for sun to suck

itches 
for chance

dependable chance
perilous chance

any chance to grow

Poem by Jo Mariner. Image: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons