Spring, 2011: After the Passing of General Vang Pao

We wake from the winter
Of our grief

To find spring arrived
And settled

New vines and leaves sprout
From grape spurs

Poppies quilt hillsides
In bright patches

Peach and pear trees full
Of sudden blossoms

Mantles of oranges reduced
To a few sturdy fruits

The dead sequoia is gone--
Sawed and uprooted

The earth raked smooth
As if nothing had ever been there.