I missed the last two rounds but this week I made it. Here is my entry for Colleen’s weekly #Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge No. 75. The prompt words for the week were “Patience” and “Green.” I used for serene for patience, but there are more phrases hinting at patience in the poem. Same with the prompt “Green” — I used fresh, new, and tender.

~Tokens of Change~

Follow me and feel
Frosty winter’s sparkling coat
Scrunch beneath our feet.
The world’s serene and silent
And waiting, biding her time.

Come with me and search
The white blanket for fresh hope.
See! The snowdrops poke
Their proud heads through frosty floes.
Brave soldiers, defying ice.

See! Silver catkins
Herald winter’s close demise.
The old kingdom melts,
Relinquishing its cold kiss
To a softer, milder touch.

Together we yearn
For tender, budding color.
Hear the new promise,
The faint whisper of springtide.
The queen of seasons returns.