a leaf worm stretches out

on the sidewalk after a rain

racing warm sun to the other side

but I look closer and see

it is already too late

its movement is an illusion

it is quite dead and

desiccated upon the

cement

his final bed pinned

to a gravestone

for all to walk over

springtime is here

but some of us have

difficulty seeing past

the end of a long

winter.