Dave Bonta's "Wintergreen" is a small celebration of finding something alive at the dullest moment of the year. The speaker says a gray March day is the best time to look for teaberries, which is a surprising claim. Gray weather doesn't sound like a reward, but it makes the berries' color stand out all the more.
The image at the center is striking: the berries are "bright as fresh drops of blood," tucked under the glossy leaves of the wintergreen plant. Blood suggests life, and a little danger too, but the feeling here is more delight than alarm. The last lines turn to taste, "sharp and sweet," and then to the idea of "frozen burial." The berries have waited under snow and cold, and now they come back into view.
The mood is quiet, alert, and gently hopeful. The speaker seems to take real pleasure in noticing small things, and the poem suggests that spring's first gifts are easy to miss unless you go looking.