The world was in motion today. Gusty wind created white caps on the small patch of the river by my office. Branches swirled. Crows swept past the windows. Downtown, everyone was rushing on the sidewalks to get to where they were going, in out of the wind and cold. With so much kinetic energy in the air, focusing on one thing was a challenge. Yet for a moment, while paused at the bank's drive-up window of all places, my eye fixed on something that stood out in the bleak, windy woods: a maple tree red with budding flowers.

Humming now with sap,
maple boughs push forth red buds.
I can be patient.