Early spring: a blessing

Winter begins to recede.

In the belly of the earth,
Life has been growing.

Outwardly, you lay low all winter
But within, you have been molten magma
A once-caterpillar-not-yet-butterfly’s gooey centre

Soon, you will burst forth,
Soon you will bud and blossom.

May you release yourself to be changed
May you trust that you are strong enough
May you remember that you once were
Many old skins,
And you survived the changes then

May you feel, beneath the wriggling discomfort
Of ill-fitting garments
That deep within you
Is an unchanging place
Which always knows which way is up
Always rights itself
Is always well.

So great this early spring sun
Hear him saying ‘take heart!
‘Draw courage from my warmth,
Which travels the long miles of space
To warm you back to life’.

And hear the earth say ‘see the dance of my snowdrops!
And the eye-sweetening yellow of my witch hazel!
They are heralds of all the beauty to come
Not least, my love – your own.’