Still Palatable

Just last week I worried
late snow might mute
the trumpet daffodils,

but the forces lined up
flawlessly, like dancers
in a well-rehearsed chorus

line, and today the sky
is that delirious shade
of blue which pauses

my morning roam
while I gawk, deepen
my breath—seventy-five

degrees, the sun buxom—
and for ten minutes,
forget the griefs

my mind has memorized.

*

Shelly Reed Thieman is a messenger of imagery, a mistress of montage. Her work is heavily influenced by the discipline of haiku. Her poems have appeared in diverse journals, most recently in Anti-Heroin Chic. She has poems forthcoming in The Sunlight Press and Lyrical Iowa 2025. Shelly is the facilitator of Poetry Brew, a monthly women’s poetry workshop group in central Iowa, and is a two-time Pushcart nominee.