Lilacs!

my lilacs have bloomed! I know, not so exciting to you as a reader but for a northern girl this is springtime. That's what springtime smells like in Ohio--fresh cut grass and lilacs. I tried to find them here years ago and found that they do not grow in the south. Then I found this amazing conainer (overpriced but worth it) with a lilac sprout genetically engineered to grow in this climate. Science is so incredible. I am a happy, happy girl. I sent in two bouquets today to tecahers and administrators at the kids' school. Come over and smell! If only I could summon up this scent whenever I am down.

from Walt Whitman:

"When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed,And the great star early drooped in the western sky in the night,I mourned, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,And thought of him I love.

...In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-washed palings,Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,With every leaf a miracle -and from this bush in the dooryard,With delicate-coloured blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,A sprig with its flower I break"

I left out the part about coffins and such :)