[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 41 (Friday, March 19, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S1775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 SPRING

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, ``From winter, plague and pestilence, good 
Lord, deliver us!'' wrote Thomas Nashe in 1600, in ``Summer's Last Will 
and Testament,'' to which I add a hearty, ``Amen!''
  At last, this Saturday, March 20, spring arrives, both by calendar 
and weather, and we are all happier for it. Blue skies, warming 
breezes, and the faint blush of buds upon the trees--this year, 
especially, spring is a sight for sore eyes too long blinded by the 
glare of Sun upon sparkling snow. The cheerful chorus of springtime 
frogs is welcome music after the almost silent whisper of falling 
snowflakes.
  This year in particular, spring seemed a long time coming. Rarely 
have we seen so much snow in West Virginia--storm after storm, flurry 
upon flurry, until roofs groaned under the weight and plows could find 
nowhere to push the drifts. Even children home from school day after 
day edged slowly from delight to cabin fever. And just when it seems we 
could not stand one more session with the snow shovel, we must now fear 
the flooding snowmelt, the menacing legacy of this epic winter.
  In time to prevent our moods from miring, like our yards, in the mud, 
come the first bright petals of crocus and daffodil to give us hope. 
Their petals glow among the wet leaves and drab grasses of winter. The 
American poet, Amy Lowell, knew how daffodils could revive one's 
flagging spirits:

     Thou yellow trumpeter of laggard Spring!
     Thou herald of rich Summer's myriad flowers!
     The climbing sun with new recovered powers
     Does warm thee into being, through the ring
     Of rich, brown earth he woos thee, makes thee fling
     Thy green shoots up, inheriting the dowers
     Of bending sky and sudden, sweeping showers,
     Till ripe and blossoming thou are a thing
     To make all nature glad, thou art so gay;
     To fill the lonely with a joy untold;
     Nodding at every gust of wind to-day,
     To-morrow jeweled with raindrops. Always bold
     To stand erect, full in the dazzling play
     Of April's sun, for thou hast caught his gold.

  As we all slowly unfurl from our winter burden of coats, scarves, 
hats, and boots, shedding them like the dark mulch of winter's leaves, 
we, too, rejoice in the colors of springtime. Our petals may only be 
cheerful t-shirts or bright windbreakers, but what a welcome change 
from fleece and wool.
  Warm weather will bring out walkers and gardeners and allow children 
to play in yards and parks, doing more to improve our outlooks, health, 
and waistlines than all the fitness reality shows we watch on 
television during the cold, dark months of winter.
  I hope that many Americans will revive their flagging New Year's 
resolutions and take advantage of spring's surge of energy to spend 
more time outdoors. I hope that my fellow Senators will note the beauty 
of the blossoms and the greening of the city as they hurry between 
hearings and the Senate floor. There is much work that we need to do, 
to be sure, but a short moment spent in spring sunshine can only warm 
our hearts, put a smile on our faces, and expand our thinking.
  Mr. President, as America celebrates the vernal equinox and return of 
spring to our winter-weary Nation, let us simply take a moment to heed 
the words of the ironically named poet, Robert Frost, in his poem, ``A 
Prayer in Spring'':

     Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
     And give us not to think so far away
     As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
     All simply in the springing of the year.

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