When Winter Ends is written by Carole Catron and shared with The Ugly Writers
We sat in the car outside the coffee shop.
He told me he knew exactly when winter was truly over
– not by birds returning or grass greening,
but by the scents that build the air.
I had never noticed.
California winters were easy.
Wet and green.
In Illinois, I counted gray days like debts and wished them away,
too eager for spring.
But April can also be cruel.
That year I missed every bloom.
And it snowed the day he died.
I would have held each bitter winter day a little longer.
Noticed the little details.
Had I known.
If I had only known.
