Flashbacks to yesterday’s 50+ mph winds and smoke from wildland fires fade by dawn. Last night the winds shift to a northerly direction and bring subfreezing temperatures, raw wind chills and light snow. I delay my morning prairie escapades with Cooper until noon. A quick survey of delicate spring greenery, flowers, and blossoms in our neighborhood confirms their hardiness to brief onslaughts of Arctic airs. After icebox temperatures they and the Llano Estacado prairie welcome the gift of sunlight. Winged seeds of Siberian Elms flutter nervously in the gentle breath of midday air. The sun caresses each seed and paints it with a golden hue, evoking images of tiny placental wombs. The miracle of spring endures.
Every time April blows into town with its changeable weather patterns, I find myself reciting an anonymous folk poem from my childhood days in Germany.
Here’s a loose translation. First paragraph: April, April, he doesn’t know what he wants, sometimes rain and sometimes sun, and then in between it hails. Second paragraph: You see, you see, how it storms and blows, and now, oh my, oh my, heavy snow falls again! April, April, he doesn’t know what he wants.
April, April,
der weiß nicht, was er will!
Mal regen und mal Sonnenschein,
dann hagelts wieder zwischendrein.
April, April,
der weiß nicht, was er will!
Nun seht, nun seht,
wie’s wieder stürmt und weht,
und jetzt, oh weh, oh weh!
da fällt schon wieder dicker Schnee!
April, April,
der weiß nicht was er will!
© Ilija Lukić 2011
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| A Rose By Any Other Name |
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| April Beauties |
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| Cercis Canadensis (Red Bud) |
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| Redbud Splash |
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| Gazebo |
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| Miracle Of Life (Siberian Elm) |
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| Tree Of Life (Arborvitae) |
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