Springtime in Fairbanks
In other places, things are blooming
but here we are melting.
Oceans of mud cover solid ground
while lake-sized puddles invite
mosquitoes
to come, breed, lay eggs for the future.
Slowly the snow recedes except
for the mountainous piles
virtually indistinguishable
from dirt.
The ground lies bare for the first time in months
exposing last year’s dead vegetation
and our version of spring color-
the trash that’s been planted
along the sides of the roads.
