She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
“Winter is dead.”
A.A. Milne, Daffodowndilly
Spring penetrates the marrow of our bones.
The sights, the smells, the sounds. The warmth.
What better icon than the daffodils–those early harbingers of spring? Wordsworth has them “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.” It’s as though they do a dance in our stead, expressing outwardly how we feel, or want to feel.
Winter is past; the snows are over and gone. We hope. We are ready to start again, once more. And nature leads the way.
I begin to realize, on a warm spring day, that these flowers are announcing a great truth. By a very deep magic, death gives way to life. There is always reason to dance.
“And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.”
A.A. Milne (1882-1956), an English author and poet, is best known for his Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
Photo: In the Shenandoah Valley, March 15, 2016
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
Great post! I heard an interview recently ‘On Being” with John O’Donohue, where he discussed the interesting connection between the Greek root for the word “beauty” being related to the word for calling. Kalon, kalein. Maybe the emergence of spring in its beauty calls forth a connection to the deep interior of our souls and a different connection to time.
OH, YES!! We Michiganders know spring, in all it’s glory (though daffodils still be in the bud) will soon be here!
May it come soon for you! But then again, if it warms up too early, then you have to worry about your fruit blossoms…