It’s spring, or at least it’s supposed to be, and yesterday presented the first hint that spring might be on her way. I grabbed by rake, pruning sheers, wheelbarrow, and set about to clear the way for my just-this-past-fall-planted red tulips to easily emerge from under layers of leaves. While I worked, the sweet smell of fresh, newly-defrosted earth intoxicated me, as did the sweet symphony of spring birds newly returned from winter refuges.
These early spring days bring-to-mind two of my favorite poems from grade school days, poems that evoke all that is spring in a few simple words and images. Here they are and I hope they delight you as much as they do me each spring.
The Red Wheelbarrow
By William Carlos Williams 
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And my second one is…
[in Just]
by E.E. Cummings
in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddieandbill com
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
madmuser 