Item: wide river inhales
free of its white icy gag
blue water breathes

Item: one of Dimitri’s staff
climbs atop the last pile of snow
to change the sign: Open Fri to Sun

Item: grizzled old Jim chops ice
out front of his boathouse
to cut a channel for his fishing boat

Item: a pair of Canada geese
waddle over a darkening pan of ice
that clings to the shoreline

Item: a dazzling young woman
who ran daily all winter
jogs the river path bare shouldered

Item: an adolescent fuzz
beards the trees along river’s edge
softening the chaotic twig tangle

Item: dream of lounging on the beach
immersed in the liquid music
of children, birds and water

Item: memories of summers future
sing in the smiles and eyes
of everyone on the winding river road