lingering light

upon

the stark, empty

trees

February pause

as winter exhausts,

the eye

fastens on the yellow

crocus

and the plum

celebrating

among sodden leaves

how brown

can be so heavy

as new green

pushes

out, small glories

glad

among the fallen

Mercedes Lawry’s most recent book is Vestiges from Kelsay Books. She’s published three chapbooks and poems in journals such as Nimrod and Alaska Quarterly Review. Her book Small Measures is forthcoming from ELJ Editions, Ltd. in 2024. She’s also published short fiction and stories and poems for children.