Right Before Spring

it was the first real rain
right before spring
washing away damn near everything
coming in like a flood
turning my yard
into a swamp of 2 feet mud
and I watch sadly
as the cherry blossoms
that just bloomed
blow in the wind
already doomed to defend
their leaves
that leave fragile new branches
cascading in a dance
that looks like
a million snowflakes
so out of place
against this landscape
for a tree that looked so peaceful
before the war
that nature unleashed