Water carries sunlight along a narrow twisting stream;

sunlight glitters on the water’s back

light among dark trees.

I watch a hawk in the distance glide the thermals

rise and circle the open space over Lake Cochituate.

Soon it will be lilac season

among other kindnesses.

To have weathered this harsh winter

didn’t take courage or strength

though the lilacs are hardy

and the season brings forth.

How can I have nothing to say about this;

a survivor always has a story.

Maybe you just keep on living

even when the odds are against you

A nurse brings a saucer of milk to your lips

and the cat in you,

how many lives now,

takes a swallow.

Then, you lift a hand and take her hand,

another sip,

and lift yourself up

which is what I remember.

Transplanted stem cells find their way back to the marrow.

I was neither strong nor brave.

I stayed in bed and looked out the window.

Some days the old oaks across the way swayed in the wind

other days: stillness and birds.

I don’t know why I made it.

Don’t we all have a fierce desire

to see a hummingbird

drink from the trumpet vine?