tu bi'shvat

& the trees outside stand like arrows

in the winter morning, stiff & afraid.

the world is cold, and hard,

and the new february ice lays unforgiving.

                   but the sun shines on. & elsewhere in the world

flowers bloom. in england it rains

& umbrellas sprout like saplings from the nourished earth,

in mumbai banyan trees quiver under silver moons.

& only days away it is summertime,

and trees rustle in luscious green and the pomegranates

drip only with honey. and the joy

rocks the world in its enormity. & even here,

where the snow continues to fall

the tu bi’shvat sun shines on.