Daphne odora

in early winter
dawn’s chill
is on the land
yet blossoms swell

three weeks later
flowers burst open
the bower’s
scent floods

something lightens
in my heart
in this now
my world is made
right again

just this
only this

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.