What Took Me By Surprise

By Bob McAfee

What Took Me by Surprise

was that first warm day, my first April

in New England, when the peepers woke up,

the woods behind my apartment exploding

into Hallelujah Chorus, overnight stillness

transmuted into frog song at first warmth.

One moment there is a crying of silence,

the next, such a flourish of noise, ten million

voices of possibility in an afternoon.

This is how I loved you. You, wearing

hog-washers and red bandana, hosing off

the wintry sludge from your green VW Beetle.

I remember that I heard, at that moment,

when I first saw you, the melody erupting,

fully formed from the forest of my

wintered heart.

🩷🩷🩷

Bob McAfee is a retired software consultant who lives with his wife near Boston.

He has written eight books of poetry, mostly on Love, Aging, and the Natural World.

For the last several years he has hosted a Wednesday night Zoom poetry workshop.

Since 2019, he has had more than 60 poems selected by over twenty different publications.

His website, www.bobmcafee.com, contains links to all his published poetry.

As of early this morning he was still in love with his best friend of nearly 60 years

.