February
Mud month: Salmonath. Kale month.
Named for Februa, the Roman purification
festival, when people were ritually washed.
Some years, February is the coldest month;
Most years, only the second coldest.
Always, it is the shortest month,
even during leap years like 2024.
Cabbage month. Mud month.
A month whose name I practiced
because I needed to get it right:
that pesky first "r". It is the month
my sister's birthday came, 94 times.
She insisted it was on the 13th; clearly
it was on the 12th. Mine is on 15 July.
A 15 July 15 long years after her first February.
Washington's birthday. Lincoln's birthday.
Combined to President's day. Groundhog day.
Valentine's day. ....Ahhhh....Valentine's day!
Too much packed into such a cold, hard month --
one almost long enough to learn to write 2024
instead of 2023. Time, finally, to let go of
all of last year's baggage.
Dismal February days creep by;
wintry February nights are long.
They linger even longer than the
solitary days of my natal mid-July.
Copyright © Leo Larry Amadore | Year Posted 2024
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