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Spring Love


for Liliana


Dormant plants begin to grow again


My love wants to visit Mexico 

travel the country and exhale


My love wants to visit the beach

sink into white sands in Tulum 

& swim in its turquoise waters 


My love wants to eat corn 

& chocolate of Oaxaca


My love wants to kiss on the orange 

balconies of Guanajauto


My love wants to visit her ancestral winds

& breathe in their teachings


My daughter sits at a desk

Intricately twisting wire and looping 

The wire inside the eye of a bead

She prepares for vending her handcrafted creations


She knows the lyrics to many songs

She bends words in her mouth

That rattle her teeth 


She blooms in humility



New seedlings sprout from the ground


I water the big vase, the womb of morning glory

The nopal is sprouting a prickly pear

& the Queen Elizabeth rose bush is peeking out a bloom


Hibernating animals awake


I get up early 


Answer emails

Whistle

Arrange the books on my shelf

Kneel to find a lost shoe

Exhale 


The Earth's axis tilts towards the sun, resulting in longer and warmer days


There’s never a warm day in the Magic Valley known as the Rio Grande Valley

It’s always hot, so damn hot

The sun sets, California is still waving hello to me

The summer waits for the spring baton


Animals have babies


I am trying to catch Santa the feral cat

She’s been having too many babies and looks tired

Wobbles to her dish for food

Doesn’t let me pet her, but knows I am taking care of her


Flowers start to bloom


So many colors have pushed up

The yellow perennial

The blue morning glory

The white Lily of the Valley











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Praisesong for the People

a project by Amanda Johnston 

2024 Texas State Poet Laureate 

This project is made possible with support from the Academy of American Poets, the Mellon Foundation, the Writers' League of Texas, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. 

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