Springing

A wonderful reminder this morning. I stepped out the door and into the 25-degree cool, a new skin of snow covering the ground. Amid this calm, a fat robin swooped by, coming to rest under a bush. Just as I was digesting this, a male cardinal began to sing his "what cheer-cheer-cheer" from a bare tree across the street. As I listened to him stake out his territory for the coming months, a purple finch began to call in the distance. And the thought burned through me--spring isn't coming. It's already here.

Form in Void
The tree is stripped,
All color, fragrance gone,
Yet already on the bough,
Uncaring spring!
--Ikkyu