Let There Be Spring!

By Paul Roberts

Patience is a virtue, the universe tells me.

If I wait long enough - 220 million years, to be precise - our sun, with planets in tow, will work its way around the galaxy again.

When I consider that, it makes spring seem so much closer. But I am experiencing a serious case of vernal equinox fever here and now.

Give me spring! I want the center of the visible sun to be directly above the equator now!

I feel like a puppy waiting impatiently for a snack outside the pantry door. The universe keeps sending me some spring like signals (Tubby Toad came out this week!) and then it does something like it did this morning. There was no snow on the ground at 4 a.m., but by 5:30, we had half an inch!  Move, Milky Way, move! Roll, sun! Rotate, earth! Please!

Occasionally in my retired educator life, I am reminded of what I would be doing if I was still in the classroom. One of the personal joys of being an English teacher for me was that I had the opportunity to share some of the literature that I know and love with my students. I realized this past week as I was longing for springtime that a regular part of my end of winter/spring is coming/vernal equinox/the world is beautiful experience was sharing one particular piece of poetry with my students. 

I have referred to the poet e.e. cummings before in my blog. His poem “in Just-” is a grand example of his penchant for playing with spelling, punctuation, and formatting guidelines in order to communicate his thoughts with his audience. In my  high school classroom, we would spend an entire class period reading and re-reading “in Just”, fleshing out the images that cummings uses in the poem (just what does he mean by “goat-footed?”). To the chagrin of some of my students, I am sure, I would be transported back to my joyous childhood memories and emotions associated with the coming of spring. The last ten minutes of class was then reserved for Mr. Roberts’ dramatic performance of the poem on the stage in the front of my class.

 I’m not sure what they thought of my performance. But for me, I think it was somewhat cathartic after a long, cold winter, and a harbinger of the beauty that was to come.

I no longer get the pleasure of sharing that moment in person with my students; so, instead, below you will see his original version in the left hand column; and, as a special bonus, I’m including my own personal “copy change” version of the poem in the right hand column.

Let there be spring!

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What experiences help you know that “spring has arrived” in your world? Share your thoughts with our community of fellow creatives.

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