Poem: Tritina: Consolation

Tritina: Consolation

The dogwood scatters snowy petals on our path,

sacrificial carpet underfoot. Swept into the garden,

they decay there as summer subverts spring.

When your jaunty step loses its spring,

and you lose yourself wandering a vague path

with frozen thoughts, stiff bones, the garden

still will offer up its consolations. To garden

is to dig Ecclesiastes. So toil, till, ʼtil spring

negates your winter. Clear your own path

through the garden’s fading petals, a path to your next spring.

                                                           by Jeanne Julian