At Spring Yard Sale

Without my consent
the cycle turns
sets the seasons:
peach-hot August
trails blackberry July

but already
this blowy April day
I am planning for winter

which doesn't seem right
with iris nodding around me
thin-veined and delicate:

There should be autumn asters
and thick-lashed daisies
strong and independent
not begging for anything

but with only
a dime's worth of time
what can I do
about the restless seasons

except buy this winter scene
painted on plyboard

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.