Two Octets with Cherry Blossoms

Sandy Blvd Springtime Octet

(4/18/17)

           

the cherry blossom clusters weighing down boughs

mirror cumulus clouds as through a concave

lens—a lemon yellow façade, a takeout

window with awning, a taijitu’s black &

white swirl against another building; dogwood’s

paradise pink opening over my head,

still sparse on dark tangled branches, unfolding

into blue afternoon: the promise of more

◦           ◦            ◦

Holladay Park Rain Octet

(4/19/17)

the magnolia’s pink cups catch the drizzle;

one petal has dropped to the walkway amidst

pointillist reflections of sky’s attempt at

light & cedar’s dark boughs; rhododendron buds

thrust crimson into the air, fountain spouting

arches of water into rain, those benches

in a black metal crescent—kwanzan blooms bend

branches under their damp impalpable weight

Jack Hayes

© 2017