It's Been a Lovely Spring

Yes,  it’s been a lovely spring and it starts the day after tomorrow. Tuesday, March 20, at 12:14 a.m. CDT, to be exact. Spring (or vernal) equinox. Equal day and night. See.

As you probably know, clicking on the picture will produce a larger image (recommended).

The posting of December 21, 2011 on this blog noted the approach of winter, i.e., the winter solstice. In that posting I said “Winter is a lovely, cold, bleak time of the year and I love it.” 

How wrong can a person be? Winter, in fact, has been a lovely spring. O Nature, what have we done to thee?!

Nevertheless, spring is nearly here and we must celebrate it (albeit perhaps with some trepidation). A favorite spring poem of mine, and probably of yours, is this one.

                    in Just-

                   spring    when the world is mud-

                   luscious  the little

                   lame balloonman

                   whistles   far   and wee

                   and eddieandbill come

                   running from marbles and

                   piracies and it’s

                   spring

                   when the world is puddle-wonderful

                   the queer

                   old balloonman whistles

                   far   and   wee

                   and bettyandisbel come dancing

                   from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

                   it’s

                   spring

                   and

                          the

                   goat-footed

                   balloonman whistles

                   far

                   and

                   wee

-      e. e. cummings

Another, rather shorter one is equally my favorite:

                      Sitting quietly, doing nothing;

                      Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.                    

                                                                     - Zenrin Kushu

What is the Zenrin Kushu, you ask? A goddamn treasure, I say.

But away with poems; I would conceal nothing from you. The red bud tree in my yard is all that need be said about spring.