Too Soon

daffodil hints
too soon
and

pine lashes
lowered to see
my immoderate fall

what unknowing is bared
in the cold
and love

when winter weight
lays down on me full length
and bird souls hang in the air

one may easily
mistake a tune
for salvation –

have you heard
the red-winged trill
too soon?

how my affection
is of no use
to the blackbird

how the fields will dream
in the sunshine

and deer curl
in grassy hamlets

when raindrops
shake the tulips
too soon . . .

no longer a distance
measured

or days counted
from autumn to spring

and no accurate arrow
pierces the heart
in hibernation

too soon

when today
is the only day
there is