I fell asleep last night
with a parade of flowers
ribboning through my mind—
the spring’s first crocuses
at its start, the tulips, the lilacs
the irises, peonies, and roses.
When I woke, I sighed, sad
that the parade would soon
be at its end. But then the day
brought mums, a little love note
smiling at me from the grocer’s door,
as if to reassure me the dance
isn’t over quite yet.