A Senior's Take on the Spirit of Spring

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Finally, it looks as though spring is not only poised to arrive here in the UK but even stay long enough to run a steady course through to whatever meteorological delights summer may (or may not) have in store for us.

A teacher at my old secondary school some sixty years ago once put it to the class in passing that the seasons are a state of mind. He moved on without explaining what he meant, and I for one thought no more about it…until recently.

Spring is often late, very late, here in the UK as I do battle after battle with the slings and arrows of outrageous old age. I have good days and bad days. Invariably, it is a case of win-some-lose-some, but on a good day recently I found myself looking out at grey skies and having to tolerate  dreary silence, not a hint of birdsong.  I felt depression creeping on and resolved to have none of it. Instead, I enjoyed a wallow in the bath, put on a favourite shirt and played some favourite music. Instantly, I felt a new person, invigorated, full of the joys of…yes, springtime. Outside it was cold and pouring with rain, but I didn’t care…so maybe my teacher all those years ago had a point after all?

Spring may not last long, but it is from its spirit of positive growth and renewal that we all, each and every one of us, need to take our cue for life over a lifetime, no matter our ethnicity, religion, sex or sexuality. while also respecting others who choose likewise, but take off in other directions. Well, don't we...?

A SENIOR’S TAKE ON THE SPIRIT OF SPRING

As I look out of my window;

I often see him there, swinging

on a wooden gate

Patches of sunshine creating

rainbows in fair  hair straggling

a blue shirt collar

Faded blue jeans, testament

to carefree playtimes when life

was a bundle of laughs

Face wreathed in smiles, one

for every songbird on the fence

dividing alley and garden

You catch me watching, wave

an eager hand, beckon me come

and be a part of it all

Part of all what, I’d ask of life

as I do now, distanced light years

from any springtime?

No answers then. Now, I know

better than to ask, a part of it all

for better, for worse

Images pass in and out of view

kaleidoscoping seamless seasons

of mind-body-spirit

Ah, but the child I was still waves

to me, last seen swinging on a gate

into an eternal spring

Copyright R. N. Taber 2018