Sweetgum Ball Coalesces Into Spring

Time passes,

Days flake off the year.

There are no ticking watersheds to mark the seasons, 

Boundaries thin, edges blur, the suppositions juxtapose.

Sweetgum Balls spring up in April, full of soft green nubs

Marking the future birth of the spikes.

Tempered by summer-scorch and monsoon rains,

blessing the nativity with beautiful protection, 
 hanging witness to creeping winter,

Tearing up the cold March winds,

Standing guard for the new yellow buds.