Quickening
Sue Russell
buttercups fill with the warm
smell of sunshine
lady slippers unfurl
dainty petals beneath
grey-green shadows
of juvenile ferns
pine needles swaddle gravid earth
and invite languid pause
on aromatic cushions
cedars pierce the sky,
releasing sun-mist to bathe
viridian moss cloistered
between gnarled roots
spring sap issues then
meanders down etched skin
pooling in the hollow crescent
above my heart