It’s Spring

(Nosegay of Violets by Albrecht Dürer, 1471-1528,
German printmaker and painter)

We’ve just gone through a long and harsh winter here in New England.

The weathermen seemed to be in competition with the Eskimos, who are said to have thirty-three terms for snow. In their forecasts, the meteorologists spoke of snowflakes, a dusting of snow, snow flurries, a snow event, falling snow, a period of snow, more snow, a mixture of rain and snow, accumulating snow, blankets of snow, increasing snow, snow showers, snow squalls, sleet and rain and snow, ice and snow, icy snow, drifting snow, gusting snow, slushy snow, wet snow, heavy snow, freezing snow, record snow, feet of snow, ocean-effect snow, snow shovels, digging out of the snow, school snow days, snow drifts, snow on the roofs, dangerous snow on the roofs, and finally, thankfully, melting snow.

IT’S SPRING

Spring unfurls its blue ribbon
To flutter in the air again;
Sweet, familiar breezes
Brush the earth with promises.
Violets, already dreaming,
Are eager to arrive.
Listen — a harp in the distance!
Yes! It’s you, Spring!
I knew you were coming!

~ Eduard Mörike (1804-1875), German poet