Natural Waltz (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: The world moves to its own special kind of music].

I stepped outside one early spring morning

   to find the countryside amid a fanciful celebration

            where the Santa Ana Winds danced with the willow and elm trees

                                             whose leaves rustled in excitement

                                 as they swished

                 from side

                                                    to side

A pair of Monarch butterflies  

                       twirled about each other

         their wings as vibrant

                                        as the poppies in bloom

Wrens perched atop the house roof sang

               melodies to accompany the revelry

                           and ravens circled above

                                    to enjoy the show

Even the bees harmonized with the tune

       while they wove in and out

               of the cypresses—

                                 the only trees

                                          content to be on the sidelines

Rabbits hopped about each other

     and the ground squirrels

          just beyond the backyard fence

                 in perfect sync

                           with the birdsong beat

I used to think the countryside

          was a sleepy place 

               that was always difficult to stir

                      into wakefulness          

                    . . . only to discover it just takes brief rests

                               to prepare for the next phase

                                           of its eternal

                                               happy dance

Advertisement