They Know

Come join the March SOL writing challenge  at Two Writing Teachers.

They don’t care that there is snow in the forecast
They’re too busy pecking the still hard ground, looking for food,
their rusty red breasts a welcome pop of color on the brown hill

They don’t realize it’s still winter
They’re too busy pushing vibrant green shoots towards the sky
And pondering when to release the center stalk and tender bud
up into the cold wind

They don’t understand there is still ice at the edges of creeks and roadside puddles
They’re too busy warming up the air with their annual hum from the ponds and forests

They don’t think about lions and lambs
when they come to school with bare knees and light jackets
hoping for a soft breeze and warming light at recess time

Or maybe they do
Maybe they remember
and know
that winter is lingering,
leaving it’s final marks

Maybe they remember
and
Maybe they’re nudging us to remember too
That longer days, and later sunsets, and hillsides flush with greens and pink and yellow
are coming soon.