Blossoms

Outside the shuttle window, pink buds bloom 

like cherry blossoms, bright and bountiful 

in rain. The blue-gray sky is strung 

with clouds; winter has not had 

her last say. Signs of spring abound 

in blossoms, stretches of green amongst 

ruddy brown. My child wonders 

at the way the tree branches look strung 

with the clay of bricks, asks: Are they alive? 

We spot the green and the buds, feel the cool 

raindrops and answer: Yes, yes. 

They rise from their seat in the shuttle 

ahead of me, bright yellow puffball atop 

their rainbow cap bouncing. Step forward 

through the rain, past the branches and blossoms. 

Open the door to the clinic, greet the morning 

as if it were always sunny, as if were always spring. I wonder 

at the way the blossoms lean into us, ask: Will we survive this? 

Listen to the faith in their voice, see the strength in their step, feel 

the strength of their spirit fill the room and think: Yes, yes.

Stacie Eirich is a mother of two and author. Her book, Hope Like Sunlight (Bell Asteri Publishing, 2024), is an illustrated memoir in poetry, prose and art of her family’s journey to a cure for their child from brain cancer. All proceeds from the book benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital & Ronald McDonald House. Her poems have recently been published in The Amazine, The Bluebird Word and Synkroniciti Magazine. She lives in Texas with her family. www.stacieeirich.com