Signs of Spring (2023)

The blackbird’s singing,

Heralding the new day’s dawn,

Followed by the gulls.

Wood anemones

Standing basking in the sun

Under leafless trees.

Lesser Celandine

Lighting up the path edges

Across the landscape.

The queen bumblebees

Zig-zagging, looking for nests

To start a new brood.

Just a fleeting glimpse:

It’s a peacock butterfly

Warming up, then gone!

Hares racing through fields,

Stopping and scanning, grazing,

Ever-vigilant.

Gannets, sweeping east

To Fife Ness, like a sine wave

Cycling up and down.

The hidden skylarks,

Quickly climbing into view,

Singing as they go. 

Gordon Baxter

April 2023