As I walked in the #warmth of the Sunday morning February sun, these numbers and their connections to Groundhog’s Day wandered through my mind.  With each step, I contemplated dates and years and those inevitable Facebook and Instagram memories that show up reminding you of a post you made a year ago, five years ago, etc.  Eventually a poem began to form and I was able to hang onto some of the pieces and write them down once I returned home.  Here’s my first draft.

02022020

On Groundhog’s Day

it’s Palindrome Day

02022020

patterns suggest

going backwards and forwards

tripping over the same stones

social media memories

mirror life lived “on this day 5 years ago”

that sometimes feel like a snapshot of today

 

A shadow determines

the arrival of spring

Does a rodent in Philly

really understand

Southern California winters?

Stretches of spring preceding spring’s arrival

sparsely punctuated

with points of weather

months that look like other months

seasons only natives feel

deep in their bones

 

As we mark this day

02022020

know that patterns

recognizable by their well-worn paths

by the muscle memory that leads the way

can also open possibility

inviting us to forge new trails

pick up the smooth flat stones to skip over

summer-like ocean waves

Let’s start now to create the tomorrow

we envision today

®Douillard