The cold that steals a path still
into my house on the exposed corner
of the street it sits on
isn’t aware of the date, instead
pushes through on a gulf stream
still running down from Northern climes.
But the sun, uncompromised by drifts of air,
balances the chill with a sideway stare
through the blinds that has altered
how the day begins, confirming that
the season has changed, moving
light from dull to bright.
Just months ago, I wanted for dreary
when now it feels too heavy;
gray and gray and gray has tempered
any color that imagination inspires
and kills the flower, wilts the green,
and pulls all energy underground.
On this morning, the sun illuminates
all of winter’s debris found in dust
on table tops and corners and among
the bric-a-brac that accumulates,
the chore is happily attended to
Clearing the way for its landing.
Months from now as the sun drones on
showing itself as summer’s dog days,
I’ll wish for shorter days to return
to dim the light so that work can stop
and I can bundle up again to ward off
the inevitable cold and darkness.
But today, on this first day,
in the excitement for a new thing,
I will revel in the fantastic turn
of the Earth as it gives a closer look
at the Sun and what it has to offer,
for it is Spring.