The magnolias are in bloom

The purple magnolia is in bloom
           streets are lined with cherry blossom
nature’s festive season has begun
           rains have rejuvenated the land

What more is there to love
           than the pulse of life
rising up from the dead of winter
           with the promise of spring
leading us on into the heart
           of a mid-summer’s dream ?

Even the fish that move silently
           through the reeds know
that a change is at hand
           the signs are there in the sunlight
that floods the river’s depths
           and in the soft debris of petals
swept downstream by the tide of life
           All that lives dies so as to live again :
it’s what nature knows
           and nature never lies

John Lyons