Mother
there is a green called waiting
when every spring bud has opened
one eye then held its breath against
snowwind unexpected mid-April
a wheeze that passes quickly but leaves
cloudcold and rainchill into May
a maybe or maybe not of thawed air
temperatures lacking enough sunsnug
the season like an old woman in bed
awake but unready to put her foot
against the floorboards until at last
the heat clicks on and bare limbs
unfurl into a thick robe of leaves
MAMÁ
hay un llamado verde esperando
cada cuando un brote de primavera haya abierto
un ojo luego de haber contenido la respiración contra
el viento de nieve inesperado de mediados de abril
un silbido que pasa rápidamente pero deja
un frío nuboso y un frío de lluvia hasta mayo
un tal vez o tal vez no de un aire descongelado,
temperaturas que carecen de un sol cariñoso
la temporada como una anciana en la cama
despierta pero no lista para poner el pie
contra las tablas del piso, hasta que por fin
la calefacción se prende con un clic y las extremidades desnudas
despliegan en una túnica gruesa de hojas
~ These poems were translated by Maria Lander Cabrere and Eileen LaFontaine. They were narrated by Maggie Gagliardi and Alejandra Camacho.
This poem is forthcoming in Folio, all rights retained.
Lisa Higgs’ third chapbook, Earthen Bound, was published in 2019 by Red Bird Chapbooks. Her poetry has been published widely, and her reviews and interviews can be found at the Poetry Foundation, Kenyon Review Online, and the Adroit Journal.