Monday February 20 2017  HEARTBREAK OF EARLY SPRING

 

HEARTBREAK OF EARLY SPRING

Kathleen Martens

February 20 2017

www.visionsofpoetry.com

 

Snow has melted in ragged peaks,

Ground exposed as moisture seeps.

Deep into the earth the thaw is felt

Too soon to accomplish what must be dealt.

 

Early spring, though anticipated in delight

To the farmer it causes such plight.

For Mother Nature can turn her back

When the necessary seems to lack.

 

For deep in the fields pests multiply

To eat future crops on the sly.

And mosquito eggs do not die

And during summer multitudes fly.

 

Sun warmed orchards unfurl their leaves

But promised warmth does not keep

Fragile buds, bloom then freeze

Because Jack Frost’s breath will sneeze.

 

Delicate flowers anxious to live

Push toward warmth their life to give.

Only to be covered once again by snow

An early death they then know.

 

But oh the pleasure of this early thaw

To smell the dampness of earth so raw.

Mounds of leaves shield the ferns

And some protection they do earn.

 

The promise of another spring

Awakens the heart to once again sing.

In hopes that nature will be gentle and kind

And allow the cold to once again find.

 

In hopes the freeze will not allow early bloom

And delicate flowers will not grow too soon.

But today with no snow on the ground

I will enjoy the smells that ubiquitously abound.

 

And I will pray that winter will comfort the earth

So that spring can share her worth.

For each season there is a right time

And to us a later spring is mighty fine.

 

During the winter Dave removes many of the screens from our windows.  Occasional do we open the windows in the winter and there are no pesky insects to fly into the house.  We have such beautiful views and the screenless windows are a delight to look through.  Our main bathroom is one of those rooms.  However cold it is we always open the bathroom window each morning when we shower to allow air flow to feed our ceiling vent and to allow some fresh air into the house.  Well, this morning I opened it wide, stuck my head outside and breathed in the deep earthy smell of the uncovered fern garden below.  It is almost two stories below us but the pungent discernible fragrance is so prevalent and heady even at that distance. 

 

In the fall Dave piles the fern gardens with mounds of hickory and maple leaves.  The leaves come up to the middle of my thighs.  After winter’s freeze and snow pack the mounded leaves lie in ankle deep puffs on the fern beds and are allowed to slowly mulch into the earth over the course of spring and summer.  The released spores drift upward; I inhale them like a fine perfume.  It is my first smell of spring; a smell of gentle calmness.  And then in silent prayer I ask God that he would return our freeze and keep our surrounding orchards abated by the cold.  Even freezing temperatures have a purpose.

 

Winters may at times be difficult to suffer through but the promise of spring is like a friend who comes when the timing is perfect.  Our early spring is not coming as a well timed friend.

 

Thank You God for the wonderful smells of spring.

Thank You too for the water reservoirs of California to once again be full.

Thank You for all the bounty of this earth.

 

Have a great day!

 

GOD BLESS EACH ONE!