It sprang forth from its pot one day. I thought it would never come. But there it was poking its little head out, checking to see if it was okay to emerge. A few days later, a little more showed. Then, literally while my back was turned facing the computer and away from the pot, a few flowers popped open, pink. It had been 70 degrees out that day. I kept checking on it every little while. It did nothing while I stared at it. That night it turned cold again. I awoke to 17 and spitting snow. I walked in to my computer and there it was – it had jumped up out of the pot and became a full fledged hyacinth with more than a few fragrant blossoms. And a stem! It was standing tall and smelled of spring. Today it is snowing – harder earlier and now a gentle winter snow. Classical guitar playing in the background and the fragrant blooms enveloping me, taking me to 3 months in the future.

I planted more than one bulb in that pot; leftovers from fall planting; a job with no instant rewards. But the pink hyacinth was the only one to emerge, or maybe just the first one to take the risk and break out. Maybe more will come, but today in the bleak, cold winter, I have spring sitting beside me, bringing me promise and beauty and life.