Honor the last of Winter this week.

Give an extra self-massage to your kidneys,
make that hearty soup one more time,
pile layers of blankets onto your bed
and pull two or three around you when you drag yourself
out to the couch or chair to start another day (now one hour earlier).
Plan a maple syrup snow cone for another Saturday of snow,
keep wooly, weathered boots on the boot tray and over
two layers of socks.

Before you count down to the 20th and pretend that Spring
didn’t already start weeks ago when cabin fever thickened or
when days noticeably lengthened and birdsong grew louder
and keeps growing louder,

Honor the last of Winter!