awaiting robins

in deep midwinter
I shoveled through
crisp cold cloudy hours
minutes falling tumbling
like snow flakes
day after day after day

lonesome for sunbeams
I thought of warmth
tingling my cheeks
losing myself in memories
of a deep endless sky blue
my ears full of birdsong

outside my windows
i watched frosty puffs of smoky angels
rise from my neighbors' chimneys
and disappear into white skies

week after week
snow blew out of the west
as I stirred pots of soup
and baked breads
and sipped steaming tea
and worked while
dreaming of robins
splashing in birdbaths

I bought birdseed yesterday
and soon my new feeder
will be ready to hang
outside my window —
a springtime welcome
for wrens and chickadees

across the driveway
my neighbor Goldie's
beautiful black raspberry bushes
rest next to her wood fence

they are just long
slender branches
leafless sticks
almost buried
still slumbering in snow

I wish them well
as I walk by
admiring their
silent
strong
patience

spring's coming, i tell them,
recalling sweet summer tastes
shared across the fence
from Goldie's hand to mine

I relish those thoughts
recalling last season's
plump blackberries
and fat peaches
and juicy nectarines
and all the harvest feasts
at the farmers' market

what sweet dreams slumber
in my winter psyche
like Goldie's unborn raspberries?

which hopes of mine
are hibernating
in white stillness?

will my raspberry roots
be ready to grow
when spring warms my earth?

what new fresh soul fruits
will I harvest
in the summer sun?