I can remember at least 7 distinct
seasons growing up, independent of global warming and the 2 seasons in New Hampshire (winter and 4th of July weekend)
SPRING comes with false promises
unreliable as a used-car salesman
"spring is early this year"
tomorrow it snows
and when the thaw comes for good
it's a mess
a sea of mud, salt, and ashes
from 6 months of winter
then nature has a birthday party
dogwood, lilac, forsythia
apple, magnolia, cherry
all bloom at once
until the greening of the last leaf
and then...
EARLY SUMMER
pops like a champagne cork
grass is green
birds sing
bees buzz
dogs bark
life is good
the long hard journey is over
neighbors are optimistic
lightning bugs appear
in the evening
days get warmer
and warmer
until...
the MID-SUMMER heat wave
hotter than a barbecued polecat
rooftops sizzle
tempers flare
ready to spill over
into the streets
"hottest summer we've ever had", they say
"no relief in sight",
the weatherman says
drinking lemonade
and mopping his brow
outfielders are slow
coming into the dugout
and then one night...
the humidity drops
and it's LATE SUMMER
ah...perfect
evening walks
to see lights reflecting on the river
and visit with neighborhood cats
delightful
it seems like these days
will never end
but they do...
t r a n s i t i o n s
FALL
a coat of many colors
season of many seasons
wear your winter coat
to school
carry it home
in the afternoon
color appears in the trees
squirrels store away food
an early frost brings Indian Summer
the most glorious time of the year
only a few days at best
a little bit of perfection...
first snow announces
EARLY WINTER
ground freezes
the sky turns gray
turkey's in the straw
the Giants use the old razzle-dazzle
a fake punt, double reverse
or throw the bomb
on first play after a turnover
and the holidays
Christmas lights glow
through the snow
good will and excitement
increase by the day...
January 1st - HARD WINTER
wind so cold
we would run across the bridges
incomparable light before a snowstorm
everything quiet and muted
the silence of a blizzard
it wasn't unusual to go out
at midnight to shovel snow
and then the January thaw - WOW!
it could get up to sixty degrees
melting everything
trees burst with energy
and next day it's twenty below zero
with four months left until spring...
and the cycle continues
-Paresh
