Odes

O faithful sun whose warmth was sorely missed!
Your loyal servant prayed both day and night.
I prayed to give you strength and to assist
The safe return of your eternal light.
Though clouds of ceaseless snow once blocked the sky
They could not bury hope nor quell the fire
Of I, who worships everything you are.
With your return I give a gentle sigh 
Of sweet relief for there is naught desire
Except to see you burn right through that scar.

At last, the winds of Winter have now gone.
Replaced by chirping birds and better days
The waking creatures give a final yawn
And find their way into the fields to graze.
At last, life is restored to all the land
As beasts both large and small shake off their sleep,
To find the world is once again a place
Where none will have to fear the cold’s command.
The icy grip of frost shall cease to creep
Into our homes and left without a trace.

The children laugh and play in busy streets,
All thoughts of cold and snow put out of mind.
They pool their coins to buy the season’s sweets
So grateful to no longer be confined
Inside their homes of wood and thatch and stone.
Enjoying warming, gentle breezes; beams
Of sun, and rolling, grassy hills abound.
With brand new friends, they spend no time alone,
Exploring nearby woods and lazy streams
To rediscover beauty all around.

The farmers once again prepare the land.
With spirits bright they tend the fresh tilled soil,
Relieved they no longer have to withstand
The fear and death that comes with Winter’s coil.
Their busy days are once again a time
To plant and weed and shear from dawn to dusk.
A daughter sews with fresh spun wool; a son
Assists his father ‘til the daily grime
Gives way to scent of honest work, a musk
That shows itself when daily chores are done.

Exotic travelers walk the roads once more
From town to town in search of new frontiers.
With restless hearts they ride from shore to shore,
In search of fortune and to best their peers
With tales regaled of their impressive acts.
The city folk await to hear the news
From places near and far, for not a soul
Could hope to start a journey ‘fore all tracts
Of countryside were joined by springtime hues.
With green restored the world once more feels whole.