Crocuses

In my childhood, spring in Maryland, United States of America, arrived exuberantly and radiantly. Above my head hung canopies of pink and white dogwood blossoms. At my shoulder cascaded sunny forsythia.

Bright pink azaleas blazed near my waist.

When I looked down, the blue fire of hyacinths shone near my ankles. And by my toes, thick, waxy petals of crocuses, brilliant gold and vivid purple, blazed proudly into the spring air. They seemed to laugh and joke as they brightened the world.

As an adult, I moved to the almost-prairie of Alberta, Canada.

Here, spring is more reluctant. After five months of snow, she begins her timid advance. A few steps forward, then a rapid retreat when a blizzard chokes the air. Some warming days encourage her to try again. Another snowfall stops her progress.

Some days, the returning geese walk on still-frozen lakes.

There is no color, no greenery. Then the days lengthen, the buds on the trees swell, and the lake ice begins to thaw. It’s time to look for the first flowers of spring. We won’t find them in our neighbors’ flower beds. Instead, we hike on muddy paths to find a sunny slope. There, from the still-brown grass of winter, peep the crocuses.

They’re not like the crocuses of my childhood.

They’re not gold and royal purple; they don’t flaunt thick, waxy petals. Our shy prairie crocuses are also called Pasque flowers.

They bloom around Easter, the time Christ, the embodiment of the paschal lamb, the Light of the world, gave His life so that we might eschew darkness and live in His light. I think of Him as I look at this harbinger of spring.

The flowers are small. Their purple, almost white petals are thin and fragile. The light shines through them and illumines the stamens that create a crown in the center. I always feel that this flower radiates hope. It’s not jolly like the crocuses of my childhood; instead, it conveys the solemn joy of renewal —the joy of resurrection.

The light of life shines through this flower.

I want Him to shine through me too.

Denise Dick Herr