This is my springtime celebration.

I stood under our plum tree and photographed it.

I felt the sheer beauty of the tree, its blossoms, its unpredictable branches

and

 I understood why

gnenerations of artists in Japan and China have painted this subject.

In the midst of our war filled planet, and my militarized country,

 I was grateful that I could pause for a moment

to immerse myself in this tree.