On my walk through campus this morning

Walking through the city after a first winter's rain.
Snowbanks are all that remain of the once superfluous drifts of white.
Winter's cache is now visible after the ranks have receded
Socks, pens, pamphlets, and various undesirables
Miscellany washed up on the banks with the ebb and tide of snow.
Autumn's leaves make a special tea in the puddles and cracks
Brown from their essence and the dirt and salt that once encased the ground.
The world begins to breathe again,
Exhaling the familiar putrid odors of spring.
Even though it is only February,
I can feel the clutch of winter loosening
And the joy of summer warm my soul.