on the edge, about
to exclaim
while the soft light
of February cloaks us
in milky blue
and a few spots of
yellow, a crocus,
a primrose, flare
among the sodden leaves,
the trees still
bare and wiry,
glum until you look
close and see tiny
bursts
of spring
these little licks
of green

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Mercedes Lawry is the author of three chapbooks. The latest, In the Early Garden with Reason, was selected by Molly Peacock for the 2018 WaterSedge Chapbook Contest. Her poetry has appeared in such journals as Poetry, Nimrod, and Prairie Schooner, and she has been nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize. She has frequently published short fiction and was a semi-finalist in The Best Small Fictions 2016. Her poetry book, Vestiges, was just released by Kelsay Books. Her collection Small Measures will be published in 2024.

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