In Just Spring...

I had to run an errand for work this afternoon. When I walked outside, I could not believe how warm it felt. The sun was shining and I later learned it was in the mid- to upper-40's. The snow was melting and the air smelled clean. It smelled fresh. It smelled of hope. All I could think about was my favorite poem in the world. It was written by my favorite poet, e. e. cummings:

In just-
spring when the world is mud-luscious
the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddie and bill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and betty and isbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and
the goat-footed

balloonman whistles
far
and
wee

I just love the words "mud-luscious" and "puddle-wonderful." So descriptive. They take me back to being a little kid and enjoying the first hints of spring - the puddles of melting snow and the smell of spring in the air. My mom would put us in our pastel-colored windbreakers, pulling the hoods over our heads and tying the strings into knots under our chins. I felt like I could play for hours outside, but pretty soon the early spring air would get to me and I'd run inside with my cheeks pink and my nose running.

Those days seem so far away. Sometimes I just long to have one of those days back.