April Forest

 A tree in April is a splendid thing,

 her boney branches fan out their design,

 now free of winter snows for coming spring,

 while birds’ nests to her still are not assigned.

 Lifeless she seems, yet within her sap

 flows a hidden power we can’t see,

 now she’s wakened from her frozen nap,

 and thus her  promise: days of May we’ll see!

 But now she stands, devoid of foliage,

 roots thirstily suck ooze from  thawing ground,

 such sweet long instants seem a privilege,

 before the forests roar with leaf blown sound.

        The bones bloom tall as stark shadows contrast

        the spring buds which clothe bare Nature at last.

 ©  By David Billings  2012