With any luck

Above ground crisped with frost,

a robin takes it chances,

braving cats, dogs, us,

for a moment

in this cherry tree lattice.

Its song calls up the joys

and hurts of other lovers.

Distance is an atrocity

they might endure.

Proximity is another

which, with any luck,

and the wind in the right direction,

we might well survive.

Tom Phillips 2014