It's what's on my mind on the first day of spring

"Daffodils that come before the swallow dares,
and takes the winds of March with beauty."
~ William Shakespeare

Today is the first day of spring.

"Spring has returned," the early 20th century Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote. "The Earth is like a child who knows poems."

And, spring conjures up pleasant memories of walking through St. James's Park in London this time of year in 2005 and 2007 enjoying the pleasant sight of daffodils.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, spring arrived on March 20 with neither a bang nor a whimper. As I look up from my MacBook Pro and glance out the dining room window of our house, I can see the sun is desperately trying to peek through the cloudy skies. Yet, there is the possibility of a sprinkle or two in today's forecast, too. Unsettled like everything else in the world these days, right?

We're expecting a daytime high of about 60 degrees (16C), which easily bests Seattle's 46 degrees (8C), and it's warmer than what we've experienced the past few days. However, our temperature and forecast pales in comparison to what my friends in Belgrade (67F, 19C) and Tunis (70F, 21C) experienced today in their first day of spring.

Spring is full of optimism ~ think baseball ~ and its annual arrival at this time of the year leaves chilly winter memories behind. Thankfully, spring has been widely rhapsodized in poetry for many centuries by Shakespeare and Wordsworth, among many poets.

Ultimately, whether sun or rain greets the arrival of spring, poetry does seem right for the occasion of celebrating the first day of the new season.

A Prayer in Spring

By Robert Frost (1915)

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,

The which it is reserved for God above

To sanctify to what far ends He will,

But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Photograph of daffodils in a vase by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012.

An appreciation of daffodils

Daffodils / Fond memories of spring time in London

I have fond memories of visiting London in spring time.

Let's see, where to start: There's world-class museums like the Tate Modern and the British Museum to lose yourself in; there's the sight of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace to admire; there's walking across the Millennium Bridge with St. Paul's Cathedral looming bigger than ever as it draws nearer to you; and, there's a plethora of wonderful theatre awaiting on both sides of the Thames that's guaranteed to leave you feeling gobsmacked.

Yes, March is a great time to drop in for a bit of fresh air and fresh culture ~ I've done it twice, in 2005 and 2007 ~ and I can't wait to do it again.  If you go in March, you'll get to enjoy the daffodils that seem to be everywhere you walk throughout all of London's beautiful parks.

It's spring time and the daffodils are in bloom.

Daffodils in bloom /
 St. James's Park (2005)

There's an intellectual quality about daffodils worth admiring. They are hardy flowers.

Their perianth and corona are very detailed and they exude a beautiful yellow hue, although sometimes daffodils contain more than one shade or color.

Daffodils in bloom /
Regent's Park (2007)

And, personally, I like that daffodils mature very quickly. They don't waste time blooming.

My photo of our daffodils (top), in a vase, was shot just three days after we bought them last Saturday at our favorite local grocery store.


Here are a few things worth noting about daffodils:

* Daffodils are the national flower of Wales.
* Daffodils were a central part of e.e. cummings' poem, in time of daffodils.
* The Irish band The Cranberries once sang about daffodils in their song, "Daffodil Lament."
* In Nantucket, Mass., there's even a Daffodil Festival held annually during the last weekend of April that celebrates the flower.

So, you see, there is a bit of shared history ~ and meaning ~ for the daffodil.

Finally, I think daffodils are indeed a sweet image amidst all of the upheaval, disaster and tragedy that is happening throughout our world these days.

It's spring time and the daffodils are in bloom.