Spring began this year as the last gasp of winter. The calendar said it was Spring and we forgave its optimism; it's not like the calendar has any direct control over such things.

Now the days are noticeably longer and warmer. We venture out with light jackets and see that only the biggest of the snow-plow piles remain; even they will be gone soon. The lawn is dry enough to rake the winter crud and smooth the spots out in front that the plows and winter tires tore up. Corky brought home a bag of late-blooming bulbs to plant.

Maybe it's from writing yesterday about the already and not yet of life lived between the times that today's prompt turned my thoughts to the already but not yet of Spring. The new life of Spring is a sure promise, but it's not altogether clear that it's here yet. The throes of Spring reminds us that we live by hope.

The photograph is from our trip out to Iowa two weeks ago. It was sunny and warm (relatively speaking) as boarded the train in Chicago; by time we approached the Mississippi it had turned decidedly drab. I remember thinking how pretty it still was as the near branches blurred passed and the distant fields and trees hurried after. The light was still there beyond the clouds; periodically it broke through with a splash on the water.

On our way we went, with two memorial services ahead of us, for one of which I was to give a homily focused on the resurrection. Throes of Spring. Glimmers of light.

Yashica-D TLR
Kodak TMax 400 120 roll film
Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner

Today's prompt from writealm.com/april-prompts/