Almost April

Almost April — there is a moment just before spring fully arrives,​ ​​
when nothing seems to have changed, ​​​
and yet, everything has already begun.​​​
​​​
Almost April
​​​
when crocuses,​​​
aconites​​​
speckle colors​​​
on frigid earth,​​​
and buried bulbs unfurl​​​
their green fingers —​​​
​​​
Somewhere​​​
a cold cauldron sits​​​
atop a flame,​​​
warmth simmers:​​​
imperceptible​​​
as approaching dawn.​​​
​​​
Almost morning:​​​
​​​
when softest tones tiptoe​​​
through purple darkness,​​​
and wakening lark arises​​​
in radiant song,​​​
ruptures​​​
daybreak deafness.​​​
​​​
Almost laughter

— D. G. Vachal​​​
​​​
​This poem is from my collection​​​
The Turning of Light
a book that follows the quiet unfolding​​​
of the seasons within and around us.​​​
​​​
If you’d like to explore the full collection:​​​

The Turning of Light
​​​
Image (public domain): William J. Forsyth (American, 1854–1935), Crocuses, oil on canvas.​

Where Branches Are Bare

Where Branches Are Bare

Where branches are bare
snow comes down
and where ruby leaves have left
stars alight
upon alabaster boughs.

D. G. Vachal ©2026

Image by Manuel H. @pixabay

Among the Jasmine Blossoms

Among the Jasmine Blossoms

a key opens
my father’s filing cabinet
locked
for so long —

the second drawer
overflows with my letters:
stamped envelopes
squiggly pen strokes
from when I was a child,
a teenager,
a young woman,
a mother —

every letter quietly kept
as a jewel
when they came to him
from far away —

now that I am near
I hear his laughter
while I walk in the garden
among the jasmine blossoms.

D. G. Vachal ©2026

Image Attribution: Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

Surprised by Light

Surprised by Light

surprised by light,
it burrows through drape fibers,
casts silver threads upon my pillow,
brushes my eyelids
with soft white feathers —

surprised by daybreak,
the pink and amber sky,
the robin’s first song,
rejoicing —

surprised
by gladness.

D. G. Vachal © 2025

Image by Susanne Nilsson, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

Beach House

Beach House

twilight at low tide:
the seabed like a wide flat road
stretches for a mile;
across the distance
the volcano stands,
majestic
against the changing sky —

I look back:
the beach house my father built
awaits,
from the balcony, gas lamps flicker,
orange flames glow
in lavender light —

I walk with hermit crabs
upon rocks and sand,
gather sea urchins
in my willow basket,
my little feet soaked
in shallow waters

this moment I am

with the sea as the tide turns,
the volcano shrouded in twilight,
the beach house
silent,
aglow.

D. G. Vachal ©2025

Image by Tim Hill @pixabay