Deer Hearts,
How happy are we that long-awaited Spring is here? Ironically, as I jot down this message a few days before, there’s a snow squall outside my window here in Buckland, Massachusetts — ha ha!
And yet, I know that Spring is inevitable. I’ve been feeling it and seeing signs of it for weeks now. This last bit of Winter is just inspiring us not to take our entry into Spring for granted.
What newness are you wanting in your life this Spring?
What are you hoping for, that you’re willing to put your energy behind and make happen?
How will you open, this Spring, to Love in your life — to the Light within you — to self-acceptance, new beginnings, and growth?
How will you express your creativity and your truth?
What love and compassion are you willing to give toward others, and how will you love and support the natural world?
I’ve attached my latest poem, SIGNS OF SPRING to inspire you to begin again
In kinship,
Cie Simurro- Thunderbird Starwoman
SIGNS OF SPRING
by
Cie Simurro
The signs began long before
the barricades of snow and ice
began to melt
Nature was stirring
Amidst the coldest part of winter
and below the surface
The Earth was awakening
from her period of rest
Small signs at first –
Ladybugs beginning to dance on the ceiling
waiting to escape into the first warmth
Clustering on the soon-to-open windows
A sure sign are the scout ants
on the countertops
Emerging ravenous from their dormancy
willing to eat anything and everything
Then there are the turkeys
Flocks of toms down from the hills
pecking at any bare patch of ground
before retreating back up the hillsides
Who is the biggest and best
their strut seems to say?
Who will be the dominant gobbler
that gets to do all the mating?
And then the first warm day arrives
Spiking temperatures that melt
even the most resistant ice
as crows caw across the sky to each other
Hawks soar in large numbers too
Circling on the updrafts
while turkey vultures tilt, eying
the remains of unfortunate squirrels that
tried to cross the road while cars raced by
The owls are hooting too
preparing for courtship and being territorial
If you spend some time right at dusk
You can hear them herald the end of winter
… aaannnddd… the drumroll please
Woodpeckers announcing the onset
of brilliant sunny skies, attracting a mate,
and issuing warnings to other males
What’s that you hear?
It’s a chorus of spring peepers,
those hardy amphibians
that let us know the ground is thawing
and underground springs are beginning to flow
Who can wait for the first stalwart butterfly
to emerge in early spring
Ragged and worn, nevertheless they deposit
their eggs on a host plant before dying
For those who are attuned
to the subtleties of nature
The labyrinth of below-ground roots
have been communicating with each other
To the most observant
The prize is a crocus or snowdrop
peeking out from the last vestige of snow
The really fortunate spy a daffodil
Maples are the first to show
signs of sap flowing and budding
In a few short weeks thousands of red buds
will grow at the end of every twig
Slow to follow
but worth waiting for
Soon, every living tree in the woods
will burst forth in leaf and flower
Humans too feel a restless stirring
A desire for the blood to circulate
And muscles to flex in exercise
Perhaps even some tenderness budding within
It’s not just the sights and sounds of Spring
that herald the change of seasons
If you close your eyes and breathe deeply
the earthy scent of Spring will fill you up
Spring fills us with hope that
the hardships of winter transform
to soft rains, beautiful flowers, and
growth, love, light, and new beginnings