As spring approaches, a renewed feeling of optimisim comes with it.
春風や希望あふれる気配かな
harukaze ya kihou afureru kehai kana[1]
fresh spring wind
bring a new sense of
hope
Spring is here! I wrote this (and intended to post it) several weeks ago, at a time when by the traditional Japanese almanac we were in spring, but by the modern calendar we still had a few days to go. Now we are in spring by both systems and it is warming up everywhere, but I want to set the situation for when I wrote it. AT the time it was cold one day, warm the next. I suppose it still is now, at least here.
Spring always brings a sense of renewal. Nature practically shoves that in our faces with blooming flowers and trees, but it’s not just visual—the feeling is in the air too. It’s warm again. We can go outside without bundling up. We start feeling good instead of just cold all the time.
There’s an old saying: “Spring, when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love.” True—but more broadly, I think spring brings with it a kind of hopefulness, a refreshing optimism.
Some of the news we hear out of the West hasn’t been too positive lately. I’ll leave it at that—you can interpret that however you want. I’ve been carrying a growing sense of dread for a while now. But the other day was different: sunny, birds singing, warm—a beautiful day in every way. And it did wonders for my mood. It lifted my spirits and made it feel like everything might be okay after all.
It was in that mindset that this haiku came to me.