Spring's Promise
It’s that time of year when we’re all antsy to get outside, change into t-shirts and shorts, and embrace our inner go-barefoot desires. Each seasonal shift has its abruptness, but winter-into-spring is special. Even for a winter lover like me, right now it’s an overstayed house guest whose every little nuance has become irritating and I’m ready for it to leave.
Like any power who knows its hold on us, winter teases wickedly during March. One day it’s sunny and 70F, and the next cold and dreary. If winter’s really bored, we’ll often get a short-lived late snowstorm. I can imagine winter’s glee about this time of year as it conjures abrupt weather shifts to keep us puny humans guessing.
But we who have cycled through many of these seasonalities know the irrevocable signs that spring is near: frisky squirrels and chipmunks seeking love, hyperactive birds, and the slow, deliberate emergence of flowers, plants, tree buds, and green grass. We also know it’s a tag-you’re-it game played best with patience earned from being here before.
I’m defiantly siting in my back open patio as I write this, bundled to negate the mid-40F temps. A mere 16 hours ago I sat in the same place but in sunny and rejuvenating 70F pleasure. No lily white skin exposed yet by wearing pairs of “do they still fit” shorts from last summer, but then, I’m always slow to foist my winter tan-loss onto the world.
I’m ready to bid adieu to winter, but will again welcome its promise of renewal and restoration at the end of this year. In this annual waiting game, patience is key, as Mr. Winter hands the seasonal baton to Miss Spring. She’ll once more bring her promised, ideal weather for outside sitting, pondering, hiking, and being warm again. Can’t get here soon enough.
SPRING’S PROMISE (poem in draft)
The sun shines
its healing rays
through thinned clouds
or crystal skies.
Early, some say
since winter’s grace
is too recent
in memory and bones.
Tell that to the
squirrels out rustling
in the leaves
chasing for love.
Or the chipmunks,
bolder than later,
on high perches
calling for love.
And the flowers,
breaking the seal
of hardened ground
to reach the light.
Eager to leave
those faded days,
I’m ready again
for spring’s promise.
- Gary Varner