PUSH PULL
By Ruth Wood, Talkeetna
Emitting vivid tones of summer and warmth
Last year’s photo catches my eye
Heart and mind leap forward in anticipation
Until glancing out my window
Today’s world of firm sun-glistened snow
Pulls me back
I gaze at birch and spruce
Standing leafless and beetle-stress bare
Their natures redefined by season or infestation
Tall, slim trunks cast shadow brushstrokes
Splitting sunlight into beams that sparkle
A masterpiece only Tony could paint
On the deck, Redpolls chatter calling their kind
Pine Grosbeaks survey, then sample
Nuthatches, undaunted, come and go as they please
Chickadees wonder why they have to share
All joyous amid sunflower seed bounty
Tho this glorious morning beckons me too
I cannot quite let go of last August
My day dreams push me ahead five months
Tomatoes that touch the taste of Tennessee
‘Green’ beans, cucumber, yellow squash
Picked just at suppertime
Seeds on order
Greenhouse cold
Raised beds still under mounds of snow
I yearn, but must wait
Oh! I love this place that pushes me forward
Then pulls me back
Somehow forcing me to rejoice in today
I drop my pen and go outside