Le Printemps Arrive

Gentle chill
mingles with
February sun
to warm my bones,
and prick my skin with cold. 

Lake calm
sleep breath waves
expose the broken shells
that make up the earth, and
keep the land believing in winter. 

When I lived in the U.K. the first sunny day of spring would burn itself onto my memory with relief from the cold, joy in the warmth, and anticipation for the summer to come. Most years I would write a poem on that day about my excitement (such as 'I have missed the sun' written in April 2011). 

Now I live in Montpellier in the south of France, that feeling comes a little earlier in the year. This year it was towards the end of February, when we were at the beach near Sète for the day. It was warm but the (relative) cold of winter was still clinging to the air. The feeling given by the weather matched the relief and thankfulness we feel at finally moving into our flat here in Montpellier.