May

First day to slip on a summer dress.

May. After the cruelest Month.

May itself cannot be trusted.

Long weekends can turn to winter.

Pack your parka just in case.

Keep your blossoms on the porch

to protect them from the morning frost

But there are fine days.

Days when winter longing cease.

Walk slowly and stop to watch spring unfurl itself.

A pussy willow becoming a leaf.  

Tulips rising. 

The red leaves of the peony offering the promise of June.

Get out your sandals.

Paint your toes a shocking colour.

Join the blooms

emerging in the garden

and be with May.

The month that brings forth Canadian summer.

Our only real taste of spring.

Go out at night in bare feet under the stars

and stand in the yard and count the summers

you have held in your being.

Remember sweet peas

and tomatoes

and beach swims. 

Soon.

Soon to come.

May itself, though, is enough right now.

A warm day.

Soft fabric swishing against your legs as you walk.

Taking in the day.

The day being such a priceless thing.