spring returning, slowly

dirt tracked inside on the bottom of my shoes later–

i can smell spring– quivering worms, grubs cut in half, sweat from use of my shovel.

dirt streaks the inside of my arm, white on brown like the sparrows–

digging for worms.

i, too, dig. dig for my community, to plant seeds and share food come hot weather.

song of the birds; trill matching my heartbeat.

we, all of us, celebrate the return and rebirth of our lives.

Emily Kledzik is an undergraduate student studying Creative Writing. She is a queer woman devoted to understanding humanity. Her writing pays tribute to the people around her, the divinity and slight humanity she sees within her surrounding nature, and the great writers that come before her.