Spring and a Birthday

First signs
Peeking out
Hoping the time has come
to stretch upward
and spring forth
in bloom

I grab my garden coat
jam a knit hat
down over my ears
to protect from chronic infections
Oops! Camera would be nice!
Sprint upstairs, then back down
clutching camera

Drizzling rain and a slight chill
Still I must have a picture
To distill any remnants
of the February Blues

My neighbor chastises me
for crouching in the rain
She doesn't understand
my obsession with my flowers
instructs me I'll at least know
what caused my cold when it arrives.

I grin and shrug my shoulders
while raking away leaves and stones--
winter's clutter
I feel the renewal of spring
flowing in me
Goodbye February Blues!
(And no "cold" greeted me the next morn
proving my neighbor wrong!)






Sue, Cyn, and me (Sue introduced me to this inspirational woman--Cyn)







My friend Cyn and I
share our love
of flowers
and
our daily battle
with chronic pain:
Hers -- rheumatoid arthritis
Mine -- fibromyalgia and osteo arthritis.

The fibromyalgia and RA are most alike--
they both affect other organs
our sleep patterns
our moods
our minds' abilities
to function full throttle
or in fog.

She retired early--
I hope to make 20 years
having started teaching at 43.

We give each other hope--
Her doctor told her
she wouldn't live to 60
or if she did, she'd be
wheelchair bound--
she was a teen when given
the news.

I was 25 when pre-melanoma
appeared in a cluster
of black moles.
My doctor pronounced
celebrating 30
wouldn't be an option
if not for early detection.

I turned 56 last month;
Cyn turned 60 today.
Neither of us use a wheelchair
or a cane
(though for a brief time
I used both to maneuver
through a nasty fibro/osteo flare-up.)

Cyn and I have tenacity.
But above all
We have FAITH
in a God who guides us
and loves us.
"Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYN!

(I am a bit RUSTY at poetry, but since I've been grading free verse poems all weekend and at times putting my head in my hands, wondering how after six days of
imagery being taught them "every which way,"how they can write such that checking the "adequate sensory images" box is difficult to do. I don't want to crush spirits, but wow! So I thought I'd try to tell my story in poem form rather than prose. I tend to get wordy with prose and thought poetry would keep me from getting "maudlin" when writing about fibro and RA. It is difficult and I could use some practice.
I also want to take a photography class and invest in a better digital camera. Any suggestions about the camera?)