Daffodils

I was nineteen the first time I really noticed daffodils. There was a little valley near where I lived, narrow and only about as long as my home now. It was surrounded by steep hills on two sides each thick with trees. From above, you'd never know it was there, it just looked as if the forest continued on. I'm not sure how I first stumbled in there but I stayed for hours. The little valley floor was spongy earth with golden clusters making their way gently down to the river. I'd never noticed flowers before.

I knew I'd be back the next day but I didn't make it. Things kept coming up and by the time I returned a few short spring weeks later, they were gone. It took a few years for it all to sink in; the impermanence. Just as soon as they sink in, that you grow to expect them, they're gone. I don't think there's a more beautiful flower in the world than daffodils, certainly none has brought me such raw joy as those first few springs.

When I bought my home, one of my first thoughts was to fill my little yard with them but I quickly changed my mind. They make me very sad, now, especially in Indian Summers like these, when you know their brief time will be cut even shorter, but even when they come at the right time, it's hard for me to feel anything but a bit of an ache when they sprout. Even when things are just right, they wont be here long and when they're gone, it's a long empty Summer where they'd been.

So they're here again and my heart didn't skip a beat. Maybe I wasn't ready for the winter to end. Maybe I'm a bit sad I didn't plant some of my own after all. Maybe I've just come to except them as fools gold. But that first Spring in the valley, that was real. Maybe I'll let go that dry empty Summer and remember well when new little golden life springs up and fades. Remember those tender green shoots on my feet, the first shots of brilliant gold that sprung up over night, the warm sun tilting with Winter's last breath and put that in a good place.

Can Kenny Loggins Write the Town Anthem? (3-2-06)

If you thought the town in Footloose sounded like too much fun, maybe you'd like to relocate to Ave Maria. The town being created by Tom Monaghan who made billions off bad pizza when he founded Dominos will be free of porn and contraceptives. WooHoo! I know where SuperOceanLad will be vacationing. Anywhere but Ave Maria.

S.O.L.