End of Spring

by Martina Robles Gallegos

The end of spring is near
It was as short as winter but warmer.
What’s going on with the seasons?
Why do they intertwine?
Can’t even tell when one starts
And the other begins anymore.
Some winter days felt like summer,
And some spring days felt like winter.
I think summer will be hell sprinkled
With freezing days and fierce winds.
Not looking forward to the months ahead
And not wanting to see spring end.
The rest of spring should go in a Time
Capsule ‘cause the future is unknown.
Neither many sparrows, doves, nor
Hummingbirds came around this spring,
And the milkweed awaits for the butterfly.
I don’t want to see the end of spring
Because the garden is still waiting in full
Bloom to feed buzzing bees and mockingbirds.
Tomato bugs chose to stay away this spring, too,
Last year we had five and named them all.
Estrellita didn’t get to chase many butterflies
This year, but she did catch a small bird that
Lay on the garage floor for days till someone
Found it and showed it to the guilty-looking
Cat that rolled over on the windowsill and went
Back to dreaming of a better spring.
This nearing end of spring is giving me the blues
And it feels like a good idea to get the house
A good cleaning and I a good cleansing, too,
‘Cause everything around here is looking rather
Gray, and that’s one color that doesn’t match
With spring.

Martina Robles Gallegos was born and raised in Mexico and came to the United States at 14. She got a Master’s degree from Grand Canyon University after a near fatal hemorrhagic stroke . Her works have appeared in the Altadena Anthology: Poetry Review 2015, 2017, 2018, Hometown Pasadena, Spirit Fire Review, Poetry Super Highway, Silver Birch Press, Central Coast Poetry Shows, Basta! and more recently, in the award-winning anthology, When the Virus Came Calling: COVID-19 Strikes America. Published by Golden Foothills Press, editor, Thelma T. Reyna. Liz Baron is an artist and restaurateur who lives in Texas by way of New York City. She and her husband, Jim, founded, own and operate four Mexican-Southwestern restaurants. She got her Bachelor of Fine Art from Pratt Institute but stopped painting when restaurant work and family life consumed most of her time. She is grateful to the online art classes of Sketchbook Skool that helped her regain the joy of a regular art practice.