Springtime is my favorite season. It’s then that the natural world is (as if) reborn and all comes alive again inspiring hope and well-being.

I offer here a few reflections-poems from a group of great writers that inspire me, followed by images I photographed in my neighborhood during recent early morning walks when the sunlight emerged from darkness and all awakened.

Happily, the air now is warmer and fragrant; multi-colored flowers are blooming everywhere; trees are sprouting soft green buds and leaves; humming-birds are feeding; yellow and red and blue breasted birds are singing, and mockingbirds are repeating what they hear; and nature is cheering hooray.

 “Arise my friend, my fair one, come away. / For, look, the winter has passed / The rain is over and gone. / Buds are seen in the land, / The nightingale’s season has come / And the turtledove’s voice is heard in our land. / The fig tree has put forth its green fruit / And the vines in blossom waft fragrance. / Arise and go, my friend, / My fair one, come away.” ―Song of Songs 2:11-13 (10th-5th century B.C.E.)

“The sun just touched the morning; / The morning, happy thing, / Supposed that he had come to dwell, / And life would be all spring.” ―Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

“‘Is the spring coming?’ he said.’ What’s it like?’… / ‘It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth.'” ―Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924)

“Spring grew on / and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” ―Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855)

“I will bring you happy flowers from the mountains, / bluebells, dark hazels, and rustic baskets of kisses. / I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.”  ―Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

“Now the dreary winter’s over, / Fled with him are grief and pain, / When the trees their bloom recover, / Then the soul is born again. / Spikenard blossoms shaking, / Perfume all the air, / And in bud and flower breaking, / Stands my garden fair….” ―Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)

“i thank you god / for most this amazing day / for the leaping greenly spirits of trees / and a blue true dream of sky / and for everything which is natural which is infinite / which is yes

i who have died am alive again today / and this is the sun’s birthday / this is the birthday of life and of love and wings / and of the gay great happening illimitably earth

how should tasting touching hearing seeing / breathing any – lifted from the no / of all nothing – human merely being / doubt unimaginable you

now the ears of my ears awake and / now the eyes of my eyes are opened” ―e e cummings (1894-1962)

“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ―Mark Twain (1835-1910)