A sprinkling of raindrops taps
against thick layers of copper leaves,
crunchy remnants of last fall,
resting now on the forest floor below,
warming enough to awaken
green shoots of spring hidden beneath.
A sweet choir of avian harmony
echoes through dormant oak branches,
along mossy, ice-encrusted granite banks
of a brisk spring stream,
instinctively seeking
their Queen, the Kennebec River.
Swan Island in the Kennebec -- 