New Soil

The white dogwood flowers look like snow against the new green of the sweet gums and pin oaks. Azaleas splash bright red, orange, and hot pink among the softer cherry and crabapple blossoms. It is my second sober spring, and I am still surprised at the generous color and the newness of it all. I am grateful to see it, and wonder aloud with friends whether it's always been here, each spring as beautiful as this. "Welcome back to the world," they say.