Spring Laments Poem by Lonnie Hicks

All the birds have had their migration routes disrupted
I had two ducks in my swimming pool in the dead of winter.

The crows are outside complaining that their migratory route
in place for centuries has been replaced by houses
and their trees cut down; no place to rest,
their calls wailing.

The doves have abandoned nesting trees they have used for years
because the new neighborhood has too many cats
and now too many dead birds;

the humming pair avoid the feeder because the cats
know they will come there to eat

Ants go deep into the ground seeking water
in the California drought
and come up in August head into houses
drinking from leaky water hoses
marching in single file protest.

My annuals bloom too early, don't really mature and die young.

My evergreens are always thirsty since there is water rationing now
and you end up letting the lawn die
while animals roam
because in the bad economy
people don't want to feed them

Spring brings cat fights,
for females and territory
and feline fever
and vet bills
because the strays mount.

Spring is depressed this year
Nature lies confused
under the hard clay.

Winter Forward
Spring Back