At Home Abroad: Spring is in the Air
By Regina Costello
Departing the homestead
Young shoulders bear heavy backpacks.
Sweet faces kissed by crisp early morning dew,
Cold, damp noses drip.
The playful terrier dances
Oblivious to the hardship.
Left-over Autumn leaves rustle underfoot.
Golden silence abounds
Broken by a yellow mammoth
Magically appearing in the mist
Grinding to a halt.
Children, bundled up warmly, clamber aboard
Eager to escape the cold wrath of the early hour.
The noisy engine roars with acceleration
Disturbing the peace once more
Disappears quickly into the mist
On its way to devour additional youngsters
Along its designated route.
I resume my walk with my wheaten.
Dawn begins to break
Casting light on peeping buds on trees and shrubbery.
A promise of a new beginning – A reminder of the cycle of life.
A hope for kinder weather and long daylight hours.
Envious that Spring has already arrived in Ireland,
I close my eyes and see the blooming daffodils and crocuses freckling the landscape
Of the forty shades of green.
Be patient I tell myself,
Beidh on tEarrach san aer anseo go luath
Spring will be in the air here soon.
*Regina is a graduate of History and Philosophy from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a post graduate of Library and Information Studies from the National University of Ireland, Dublin. She is the former Assistant Librarian of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin; former Curator of Irish American Archives of the Cleveland History Center; former Executive Director of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument Commission and former Executive Director of the Northern Ohio Rose Centre. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Mayo Society of Greater Cleveland. She can be reached at [email protected]
