A few months ago, I discovered a shortcut that shaves a good five minutes off of my drive to take Leila to school in the morning. If I cut through Fort DuPont Park, I can avoid the traffic of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Roads. An added bonus is that it’s a wooded park in the National Park system. (it would be a stat park, but alas, D.C. is not a state so. . .) It’s my beautiful oasis in the middle of the city. It’s hilly, winding path should force drivers to slow down to accommodate the 25mph speed limit, however, since it’s only really used as a shortcut, those laws are largely ignored and it’s become a bit of a raceway.

This morning as I was driving this road that I drive every weekday morning, it seemed as though everything had taken on a new glow. The grass, which had been dead and brown was now springing up a lush green. The buds on the trees are all on the verge of bursting forth with blossoms. Even the sun shining in my eyes as I crested the first hill seemed to shine a bit brighter.

“Does anybody have a pen and some paper?” I called to my girls in the back seat. “I feel a poem coming on.” Jordan said that I could use her notebook. Leila sighed and said, “Jeez, mommy! You’re so weird. You feel a poem coming on?” She shook her head in disbelief. My children just don’t understand that when inspiration hits you’ve got to capture it because it can disappear as quickly as it appeared if you don’t seize it in that moment.

After I dropped the girls off, I scribbled down a few words and then came home and wrote this poem. Happy Spring, ya’ll.

Spring: A Poem by Nobody in Particular

spring’s been here mere moments
cresting the hill at Ft. Dupont
I see the sun creeping up over the horizon
bringing spring

this magic occurs each year
but my wonder never grows old
what was brittle and dead days ago
now is verdant, lush and reaching towards heaven

its an ordinary morning
I am nobody in particular
but I have poetry inside of me
mere words
but bursting with hope and promise
not unlike this precious new season

standing in witness to this re-birthing
brings renewed hopes
this endless cycle of birth and death
will continue on
there will be good days
and dark nights
there will be trials
and rejoicing
while the dream continues
God is

but today I am simply glad
to greet this newborn season
I celebrate the joy of a new day
mindful of how fleeting the moment
the gift is cherished

Evelyn B. Bourne (c) 2009