On Uncovering an Earthworm

Yesterday was one of those perfect early spring days,

the kind of day so vivid

the colors announce themselves with exclamation points

Green!

Pink!

Purple!

The daffodils were so yellow (Yellow!)

that they put to shame anything else that dared

call itself yellow.

It was that kind of a day.

I was weeding the flowers beds

and pulled up a particularly stubborn clump-

weeds, roots, dirt-

and revealed an earthworm.

The soil was still cool,

and the earthworm was still sleeping

when I suddenly and rudely removed his blanket.

I imagined him yawning,

rubbing his crusty eyes,

and saying, “What the hell?!!”

I apologized

and quickly covered him back up.

I wondered if the earthworm later 

told his wife, “I just had the weirdest dream…”

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Accessible Poetry 
(inspired by the poetry of Billy Collins)