Expectations

Like someone
standing too close,

spring

exhales

warm humid
breath,

presses

dampness
into our house,

wipes

every
surface sticky.

A spring
more suited to summer,

at work
everyone was saying:

‘It’s going
to be one of those

years we don’t
get any spring.

It’s going
straight into summer.’

Why do we
expect

gentle
transitions

on a planet
prone to

sudden tectonic
quakes,

cascading
mud slides,

violent webs
of lightning,

wild
contorted winds,

cold crushing
ice,

blinding dunes
of snow,

drought-driven
dust storms?

Like
someone standing too close,

spring

exhales

hot humid
breath,

leans

into summer.