A Poem for National Poetry Month: ‘Salutations, Spring’ by Janice Canerdy

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Salutations, Spring

We sing your praises long before you’re due
and after you’ve departed—all year long!
You bring green grass and flowers into view—
plus bugs, torrential rains, and winds so strong.

You come with warmth to woo the Earth to life.
Sweet fragrances come wafting on the breeze.
With allergens, the springtime air is rife.
My faucet-nostrils drip; I wheeze and sneeze.

But allergies and rashes can’t negate
your glory. Nor can pollen steal the praise
you’ve earned. Now I’ll just take my meds and wait
till I can relish your more winning ways.

__(I’ve sneezed on this creation seven times.
__My dripping nose baptized the latter rhymes.)

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Janice Canerdy is a retired high-school English teacher from Potts Camp, Mississippi. Her works have appeared in several publications, including Society of Classical Poets Journal (and online) Spirit Fire, Light, The Road Not Taken, Lyric, Parody, Bitterroot, Westward Quarterly, Lighten Up Online, Better Than Starbucks, Saturday Evening Post, Encore (journal of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies), The Mississippi Poetry Society Journal, Your Daily Poem, and LIVE (by Gospel Publishing House). Her first book, Expressions of Faith (Christian Faith Publishing), was published in December 2016.