Equinox Just Ahead

It is almost

summer. That time that sweeps
past. Day. Its train of greens
leaves us bowing

and bow-wowing. Dogs panting in the heat
and lacking any respect
from humanity. To be “shot down in the street

like a dog.” Dogshot in the street. Down
dog. Almost summer. That heat. Sequins
and green equinox. When

the center of the sun
lines up with the equator. We look
for lines and intersects. In an angle-

less universe, equinoctial points
matter. The celestial equator and the ecliptic intersect.
That makes us happy, dogs that we are.

Orioles

In May, right about this time, when the maple leaves are goldish green and standing up on their stems, about the size of a fifty-cent piece (dates me, doesn't it?), the orioles return. And sure enough, yesterday they came, looking for nectar and singing their tune ("With a song in my heart"). Amazing creatures, that I never tire of watching and hearing. Spring. A good reason for living.