birth book
a toddler scribbles
in the blank spaces

darkening clouds
I press cold earth
on tulip bulbs

dawn on Dal Lake
emerging from the mist
the flower boat

spring grass
the rounded rump
of an Angus steer

washing trays
that held rice seedlings —
a song from the river

first steps
the scent of earth
clings to her shoes

wood anemone
only the hare
and I

first warm day
we check the mountainside
for wild goats

scent of lilacs
my dog waits for me
to catch up

a fishing fleet
hanging in the clouds . . .
the spring horizon