Tuesday, March 21, 2006

At the End of the Tunnel

Sometimes the winter seems like a long tunnel that contains fall and stretches from the last warm days of summer to the first warm days of spring.

Though the sky might go blue for a time now and then in between people seem to stop believing in things like flowers, and picnics, and playgrounds, and “How do you dos.”

Then the first warm air slides through the city. A crocus pushes up through the ground next to a high-rise building where a gardener hasn’t yet visited. Jackets get lighter. People walk just a bit slower and don’t quite shiver as they wait for the bus at the stop outside my building.

In the morning when I go to make coffee, the sun starts to be up before I am. The lake starts to look blue again. A sailboat has returned. Soon there will be many.

At the end of my sight there’s light. We’re coming out of the tunnel.

It’s not one minute too early.

The color, the beauty of spring holds a promise that’s blindly beautiful to me. My eyes hurt with pleasure already just to imagine seeing it. Bliss—the vision of spring.
—me strauss Letting me be

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yep, we need the winter in order to appreciate the spring, as you have pointed out so beautifully. Now that we're on the homestretch, it's easy to say that. Shouldn't be long now, if you just overlook the lingering snowflakes...

Hugs,
Betty

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Betty,
No spring cleaning now! Time to go out and be dazzled by the colors fo the sky and the flowers. No excuse for staying inside with a casuum cleaner. NO nO NO.

smiles,
]Liz

Anonymous said...

A curtain fell over the light at the end of the tunnel here, as we had snowfall on the first full day of Spring. It strangled the life from the first brave daffodil, but there will be more, as today glows brightly.

Thanks again for your lovely writing.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Marti,
At least you that the light is there, and which way to walk to get to it. Spring is waiting for you. I promise it will be there. I promise. Sorry about the daffodil.