Washington DC and Poetry

My husband in front of the Lincoln Memorial

Early in the morning, around 2am, we rolled into our driveway exhausted and both of us running to the bathroom at the same time! Our Washington DC trip officially ended and now we’re back to work bright and early at 8am just six hours later. I’m sunburned and tired but it was all worth it.

 

I can never say no to an opportunity to travel to an unknown city with no plans but to discover what it has to offer. There’s something romantic about it and spontaneous and that is how my husband and I like to lead our life.

When you don’t have plans, you don’t restrain yourself with expectations of the place. The only thing we did plan on seeing was the Whitehouse and we ended up so disappointed. We always thought it was bigger…right? Not the case.

But the best part of the trip? Free admission to all Smithsonian Museums. How great is that?

However, the highlights of our trip were the Lincoln Memorial, the MLK Memorial, the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the National Gallery (West).

But enough about me.

How did you spend your weekend? With family for Easter? Or are you celebrating Passover? Any which way you spent the weekend, did you write or read any poetry?

If you need inspiration or ideas, write a poem about a time when someone exceeded your expectations or when someone let you down.

I hope that everyone shares a poem of their own in the comment’s section below.

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?