Spring Crept In

The chickadee and nuthatch, the finch

and sparrow have survived the winter months’

cold and snow and gusty winds buffeting them

flittering between branch and feeder, a quick seed

and returning, or leisurely dining on the railing

outside my window on a warm winter day,

surviving as did we, trapped as we were inside ourselves,

wrapped in the garb of winter cold and darkness

clutched tight about us, hats pulled low, and scarved;

but today, spring crept in, the lion of winter settling down

awaiting the lamb, his roar but a purr amidst the melting

snow and ice of rising degrees, raising, too, our hopes

for change, rebirth and renewal, daffodils and irises sprouting,

the transient birds stopping by, and the birds of summer

returning, old friends gone south, migrating, coming home.