january

After a long rain, the air is still, streets washed, pits drummed into the earth's surface -

Bloated worms coil on the pavements, puddles stretch and ripple

Winter jasmine, snowdrops, blackthorn blossom and lime green catkins; the delicacy of the winter flower -

Unshowy, close to the earth, precise - no blowsy efflorescence -

Dogwalkers and a hesitant fly; washes of blue in swollen cloud; a re-gathering, an exhalation -

Children's voices like coloured streamers - a magpie ack-acks from a glittering aerial - birdsong threads the air.