The Chinese calendar has it right, I think
Insisting that spring begins in February
To begin a season at the beginning
When the season is just awakening
Only a stirring, beginning at the beginning
As the east wind melts the ice
Insects begin trembling, quivering, shivering
When the nightingales begin singing in Japan
–ho-hokekyo– ho-hokekyo
Chanting a thousand times a day like a Buddhist sutra
Plum blossoms in Tokyo covered in snow
Shimmering by moonlight
What a sight after drinking warm sake
In Pasadena, it is the bulbuls
Sweetly awakening me on cold mornings
Then parrots screaming maniacally
As peacocks shriek in the palm trees
“Spring is here!”
Mating season is upon us
They remind us all night long– demanding, whining, calling
Isn’t it charming when the dandelions appear
In the second month, Sei Shonagon might say
Dandelions blanketing my neighbor’s lawn
And I think, “Isn’t it charming?”
With the third, fourth, fifth flush of oranges
Comes the goldfinches
Fluttering golden chunks of sunshine
Feeding at the bird-feeder out my kitchen window
Little flying piggies twittering
World awakening
Spring is here, spring is here, spring is here
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The traditional Chinese calendar was developed between 771 and 476 BC. The marks the passing of the seasons with twenty-four solar terms (節気), representing 15 degrees apart on the 360 degree solar elliptic (the path which the sun travels across the sky during the course of one solar year). Each of the solar terms lasts about 15 days. The year begins at the beginning of spring (立春) falling sometime in February.
Dewdrop World 