Chickweed

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.


Today, by Billy Collins


It was a beautiful day, and we did indeed throw open all the windows in the house. We get a very short "sweet spot" in spring, when it's warm and breezy and the bugs haven't really come out much yet so you can enjoy a little time in the yard. Amy took advantage by doing some lawn mowing, grass trimming, and thistle suppression. I, of course, was too, uhm...sick to help out with that sort of thing. Oh darn! Instead I puttered around using my new macro lens attachment for the iphone. Our yard, which is only mowed sporadically, and even then just in rotating patches, is full of tiny little flowers of all sorts. It was hard to get a clear shot with the grass blowing about in the wind, but I thought this chickweed blossom came out pretty nice.