The atmosphere pulses with your glory.
We praise you for the moments,
the moments we awake and breathe in newness.

The whole world feels spring rushing up.
We praise you for the daffodils,
the flowers that bloom with snowless joy.

Our winter was too long.
The snow was too deep.
We were not sure it would melt.
The despair had caught us.

And the atmosphere groans with your hidden glory.
We praise you for the moments,
the moments we can bear to enter it.

Very few feel the suffering behind the bloom.
We praise you for your humility,
the food that feeds the flower, the fire that melts.

Your winter is long.
The snow is still so deep.
So many lives frozen in the drifts –
the despair is caught in your throat.

May your tears wake me up
as they water the earth.
May I not turn away
from the cost of a daffodil,
and not hollow out joy
by refusing to suffer love.