Poetry Prompt Saturdays - Spring

Cherry blossoms in full bloom outside of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
Wikipedia.org

My husband and I are in Washington DC this weekend and spring is in full swing here. We have seen magnolias in bloom and a few cherry trees, but not the famous cherry trees gifted from the Japanese Mayor of Tokyo City in 1912. Unfortunately, our long weekend didn’t fall on the Cherry Blossom Festival in March and we’ll miss the full blossoming of the cherries by just a week or so, but our weekend has been a success. It’s been a warm, sunny and historical filled trip.

Hyacinths and tulips are popping up out of the ground in DC and I actually got a sunburn. An actual sunburn! I never knew I would be so happy to actually have a sunburn. 

And why? 

It’s a sign. A sign that spring has finally come. Winter’s grip is loosening. The frosts are thawing and the lakes are breaking ice.

It’s been a long winter, full of negative degree weather, boilers breaking down, snow shovels and deicer. I’m done with it all, and I was never happier when the first couple of days of warm weather (high 40s) started coming around in Connecticut a couple of weeks ago.

And every year it's the same. When I finally realize that spring is wiggling its way in, I always smell it first. That wonderful earthy smell. The smell of long frozen dirt and leaves unthawing and sweetly rotting. It’s a smell that grabs you and whispers in your ear, “I’m back.” 

So on that note, I thought that our Saturday writing prompt should be in honor of spring.

Write poetry or prose, any form that you wish to choose on the following prompt.

What are the signs that tell you spring has arrived? Do they excite one particular sense? Taste, smell, touch, sight or sound, or all five?