Apple Blossoms and Babies
May warms us, gifts us with abundant blooms, and washes us in sweetness after a long winter. For me, it also brings sweet memories of caring for my young granddaughter.
I spent one day a week with her ever since she was a tiny baby. Later, her younger brother would join us, but in those early days it was just me and the baby. She was born in winter, so I was overjoyed that first May when the weather was fine enough to take her outdoors. Every time we were together we would stroll the neighborhood, or a nearby nature preserve, enjoying the beautiful spring air. One particular day (so often, one particular day defines a season) I was so struck by the perfection outside my own door that I was inspired to write a poem honoring that moment. It was 14 years ago now, but that perfection still lives in my memory, reminding me of why, even with the long, sometimes brutal winters here in northeast New York, I still choose to live here.
The poem below describes that wonderful, fleeting feeling, as ephemeral as a breeze, that comes with a fine May day. I hope it will help you remember the spring days in your life that brought so much happiness. May this month, so full of promise, bring you joy.
Why We Live Here
New leaves turn in the scrubbed blue sky
Showing me what green really is.
Robin and Cardinal,
Goldfinch and Nuthatch
Bounce hopeful notes
From tree to tree.
Trillium, Bleeding Heart,
Poppy and Bluebell
Tumble over one another
In my unruly and beautiful
Wildflower garden.
And the soft baby on my lap,
Just in from outdoors,
Smells of fresh grass and apple blossom.
In the iron-gray darkness of February
We asked ourselves why we live here.
This is why.
Ah.