Cottonwood

The spring is getting ready
To turn into summer.
The cottonwoods are “blooming” now.
The ground is covered in small white fluff.
In a few days,
The cover will be thick and dense
In places where the wind collects it.
Those with allergies are miserable,
But I love this time of year.
It has to get cold enough
To get these white spring carpets.
I missed them when I lived
Below the Mason-Dixon Line.
Moving back north returned me
To the climes that bring spring snows,
The real and metaphorical kinds.
Maybe it’s nostalgia
That makes the cottonwoods so notable.
Maybe it’s that it was lost
And then regained.
Either way, it makes me smile
Because it reminds me of home.