April 5, 2013 by Erin

The First Warm Day

The first warm day is a new freedom—a surprise each year, as if it’s never been before, as if the bright sun has never called me round the bend to a bigger world. It calls now for the first time, and the breeze kisses legs that have never been bare. Feet that know only wall-bound paths fare farther, now their only boundary the horizon. It is the season of wandering. And wander I will, as each breath in blows dust from the corners of my mind, in this new, expansive world, this world of branches and blooms and bare feet on fresh-cut grass. Flung suddenly into beauty that commands my focus, I feel a grin take over my face—I know the binding frost has lifted. The world is new-born, and first warmth brings a thrill at the thought of freedom.