Stuart Kestenbaum: "April Prayer"

Just before the green begins there is the hint of green
a blush of color, and the red buds thicken
the ends of the maple’s branches and everything
is poised before the start of a new world,
which is really the same world
just moving forward from bud
to flower to blossom to fruit
to harvest to sweet sleep, and the roots
await the next signal, every signal
every call a miracle and the switchboard
is lighting up and the operators are
standing by in the pledge drive we’ve
all been listening to: Go make the call.

"April Prayer" by Stuart Kestenbaum, from Prayers & Run-On Sentences (Deerbrook Editions, 2007). Text as published on the publisher's website.

Art credit: Photograph of red maple buds taken by the blogger at New Hampshire Garden Solutions in late March, 2013. Caption: "The plum colored bud scales of red maples (Acer rubrum) have opened enough to let the tomato red flower buds begin warming in the sun. It won’t be too much longer before we see the bright red blossoms dangling from this tree’s branches."