New Moon of March Sonnet

Hail, bright crescent, scything through winter’s last
snowfall, lying frosty-white on hard earth.
Though north wind may not have one more blast,
nothing can she do to cease soil’s birth:
bacteria and mycorrhizoids bloom
to feed in turn both nematode and slug.
Blind earthworm in her blind tunnels of gloom
loosens frozen soil for mole and bug.
Beetles birth from galls, boletus from spores,
and grasses spread from roots among fragmented rocks.
These draw dead minerals through secret doors.
Natural enzymes each molecule unlocks
to transform plain matter to something more
lively and vibrant than it was before.

Sonnet for the March Full Moon

Hail, lady Moon, rolling over white fields
not yet seeded, not yet weeded nor ploughed.
Diffuse you appear through fog, mist and cloud,
shedding reflected light which Sun annealed.
Daymelt uncovers what twilight frost sealed.
Robins, long observed, now warbles aloud.
Crows stalk through woods like waiters in a crowd:
deliberate and watchful and light of feet.
Lightning-struck ash resembles melting ice…
punky and springy and lousy with holes.
Barn owl patrols his own before-dawn beat.
Earthworms wiggle but soon will pay high price;
heartbeats begin stirring in nest of moles.

Ides of March Sonnet

Woodlands awaken libertine senses:
Sap springs upward in beech and berry-bush.
Clear water replaces lingering slush.
Chipmunk abandons winter defenses,
and turkey finds gaps in farmers’ fences.
Skunk cabbage rises, green heads in the marsh,
spreading to sunlight though wind remains harsh.
Rabbits and chickens renew their menses,
and sun rises earlier every day,
enlightening the east with salmon glow,
to furrow middle portions of his field.
Now is the hour for casting away,
releasing what is dead, and letting go.
That which remains shall be renewed and healed.

Because of travel and time with my family, I was unable to access the Internet to send this and other poems for several days. Please accept my apologies for the late delivery.