Yes, Sunday was a warm day, soft gentle breezes and comforting rays of the sun. But I refused to revel in the day... It was a facade. Mother Nature is a wicked Mistress, taunting us with such a day... Coaxing us out of our houses to sit in the sun, and wash our cars and plant our seeds in the still cold earth. Coaxing the buds from the trees and the daffodils from the ground, only to slam us with another frigid wintery day. For spring has not yet arrived my friend. And I refuse to be duped by Gaea

and Spring... What does it offer me? Spring is all wet and squishy and full of new young growing things, so weak and fragile. The pale yellow-green new leaves of the maple trees, soft as a butterfly's wings. The tulips and daffodils holding their heavy heads on spindly stems looking nervously about for the hard rain or gusting wind that will slam to the ground, necks broken and battered. The sodden earth, pulling me down with each step, no confidence, no purpose. Spring is just Mother Nature taunting us.... "see the allure of youth, so beautiful, but so fragile and weak". I'll not let Her mock me.

But in the Summer.... She begins to lose control. The maple leaves are now deep elegant green and feel like satin on my palms. The daffodils and tulips are gone, giving way to hollyhocks reaching to the sky, and roses bursting forth in a glorious cacaphony of colors and fragrance, their leathery leaves hiding the formidable thorns. Mother Nature has indeed lost control of the earth as every living thing reaches skyward, growing stronger and hiding deep within them the secrets that guarantee their survival. The Sun begins his attempt to control the earth, beating down upon us like the piercing glare of a displeased Master, showing his power and causing the weak to retreat and cower under shelter.

And soon, Mother Nature regains her strength and tempers the power of the Sun. Autumn arrives and an apologetic Gaea paints the earth with the reds and golds and yellows and oranges as if to say "Look! I can do better... Here is beauty with strength" This is when I truly revel in nature. Everything is in balance. The Sun and the Earth and Mother Nature and I have reached equilibrium. Everywhere I look, I see beauty and peace. The maple leaves proudly display their yellow-orange banner and keep their strong satiny feel as I pluck my favorites and hold them to my cheek, inhaling the earthy scent. The crisp air invigorates, revitalizes. The chrysanthemums hold their deep scarlet heads proudly on strong stems, laughing at the rain and wind and ready to stand up to whatever the wicked Mother Nature sends their way. And I stand in the fragrant air and drink it all in... Gathering the energy of the beauty around me.

And the Mother gets too cocky and begins to lose her hold on the world. Her energy depleted, she rests and the beauty begins to fade. The chrysanthemums still stand tall, but are now colorless and empty. The earth is cloaked in greys and even the Sun loses interest. We retreat into our havens, cursing the cold. She rests, gathers strength, and in the middle of a dreary February, shows herself once again..... A taunting voice in our heads, teasing us out once again to be seduced by Her wicked ways....

27-FEB-1996
@1996