I catch whiffs of the delicate scent
        from a row of flowering crab trees—

magenta and white—blooms
        that will last for only days.

Walking down the road              
        and around the corner

my eyes are drawn upward
        to surprises here and there—

soft, puffy, bursts of white
        and of pink poufs, as I name them

exhaling pouf! as I meet another
        magnolia, my spirit being lifted

to the quiet strains of awakening,
        the fresh notes of young passion—

Mother Nature staging the feminine,
        on this day—in this moment.

Come along
        while the magic is here.


© by Camille A. Balla.
Used with the author’s permission.