Monday, February 18, 2008

Almost, but not quite

It's still very cold here though the days are getting brighter and longer. For these past few days, I even had to draw the curtain in my wee kitchen because the sun rays were too bright and piercing. But don't let that fool you by thinking it is that warm outside! No, it's definitely not! On the contrary, it has actually been colder than other days.

It is a confusing time, really; to look at the sun and think, 'Oh, spring is here', and we go into the gardens preparing the plants and flowers for their awakening. However, in the mornings, we still find frost covering the ground.

The children also get a little confused, Mommy, is it still winter? Or is it Spring already? Abang H exclaimed the other day, when we saw beds of flowers preparing to bloom on the sidebanks along the roads.

The answer? Well, technically, Spring only begins sometime mid-March, so we are pretty much still in winter. Nonetheless, the sunshine gives us hope, doesn't it? It'll come soon and when it comes, the flowers will all bloom.


A Light Exists in Spring, by Emily Dickinson

A light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period.
When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
On solitary hills
That silence cannot overtake,
But human nature feels.

It waits upon the lawn;
It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,
Or noons report away,
Without the formula of sound,
It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss
Affecting our content,
As trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a sacrament.

8 comments:

k.d said...

It is confusing. The daffodils are out already and my iris are blooming. But then when the frost came they all withered again!

Well, at least the days are brighter and dry...which is great. Cold yes..but at least it's dry and not rainy and windy...

And it is cold still alright. We still use our fireplace..:)

Keep warm Kak D..

Eddie Putera said...

ahhh spring is coming eh..flowers bloom, birds chirping.trees will green again..I sold lots of painting in spring kat Hyde Park...

HH said...

hi K D, hope everything is ok. Sorry for the silence, sibuk sikit. Will talk later...

cikdinz said...

sejuk sapmei ke tulang sumsum...

Anonymous said...

Asalaamu alikum again,

Very glad to discover you are also in Britain-- its rare as more bloggers are in the US.

I'd argue spring is here- despite the frost and cold- I've seen daffodils. Daffodils= spring.

Dont be sad

Anonymous said...

Salam..

Nice to see Emily Dickinson poem here :)
If daffodils were already around, then we need William Wordsworth.. hehhe

-----------------

Daffodils
by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Umi Kalthum Ngah said...

Dearest D,

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah,

Been following your postings quietly…

But since the subject is spring, can’t help wanting to say something…

Just love spring…Alwyas have and always will...And daffodils! They give you a certain feeling…inspired me to write my first book for teens, “Dafodil untuk Insyirah” and then the third, “Seindah Dafodil”

The first signs of spring…such breath of freshness…birds singing, petals unfolding, leaves sprouting…

May Allah bless you and the children always…Amin

Wasalam,

Dr. Umi Kalthum Ngah
USM Engineering Campus
Nibong Tebal
Penang

Anonymous said...

we just had the worse winter last week...freezing cold... so cant say its spring yet...:0)

Even though each season şs beautiful in its own right..i still think spring is the best one coz it is neither too hot nor too cold (just confusing esp on what to wear) but full of beautiful buds of flowers... Spring will be just in time for u to let go of ur own balloon... at such a beautiful start of life as the buds of flowers start to come out... hopefully so will urs..

r u plannig to do a lot of planting this spring?

take care'