Undercover

 Undercover

Spring has sprung.

Yard work begun.

It's time to discover

what's undercover

for last fall gardens were put bed

covered with a blanket of leaves quite dead.

What was discovered today

underneath this crisp array?

From under this blanket burst

purple and bright gold crocus

now visited by honey bees

which is quite pleasing to me.

Rosy tips of tulips seen

among daffodil's leaves of green.

Can't wait for the tulips to bloom

as they were a gift last autumn.

Much of my garden makes a memory

of friends and family dear to me.

This afternoon under the sun's beams

other surprises wait to be seen.

There are grape hyacinths lacking chlorophyll,

yellowish green under the leaves looking quite ill.

Other hyacinths seem to grow an inch a day.

When I saw them pop up last week they made my day.

Day lilies are uncovered

as the warm sun hovers,

while songbirds serenade

as they build nests from blades

of dried grasses and twigs

when they build their new digs.

Yes, each year spring brings with it a time of wonderment,

where miracles reappear to our amazement.

These warm days seem to bring an excited energy

though I, for one, quickly run out of energy.

I'll need to cut the ornamental grass

and buy something to kill grubs which ate the grass.

The compost pile waits to be dispersed.

There's another pile piled high with brush.

There's holes dug in the yard by squirrels

and trails left behind by moles.

It seems each joy is tempered by a sorrow

but there will be joy abundant tomorrow.

As I uncover, I find lots:

there's fat buds seen on the lilac,

forsythia almost ready to bloom,

lovely daffodils, with their spring-fresh perfume,

new green growth on the rose,

a pair of mourning doves pose...

hostas poking out of the ground,

under the leaves rhubarb is found,

here's sedums green rosettes

and hellebores are met,

there's purple columbine leaves.

These dead leaves make me sneeze.

Hooray for spring

for spring does bring

renewal each year

as green growth appears.

It's as the earth is kissed

and now filled with promise.

* * * * *

There's another promise

much better than a wish

found in God's Word

direct from the Lord.

It's: you are loved with an everlasting love.

Consider yourself enveloped in God's hug.

Not only is God's love eternal,

it's also unconditional.

You do not earn it.

It is a free gift

waiting to be discovered

under the Bible's covers.

I have loved you with an everlasting love.

Jeremiah 31:3

The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith -

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -

not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God's workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10

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