Springtime resolutions

Now is the time when the soot black twigs of London

and the polished brown ones of the country,

burst out, page-like, into rows of neat green buttons,

which later on become little plumes

or tufts of crinkled leaves;...

Now in fact, is the real New Year,

when all good resolutions ought to be made...

now,when the blood is rising like sap;

when irrational joy, the only safe kind,

threatens to burst your respectable waistcoat buttons;

when your feet, however prosaic your boots may look to others,

are wing-shod and scarcely touch the pavement...

The resolutions which you make in this mood are certain to be good ones,

and stand a very good chance of remaining unbroken.

They will be bold and strong, positive and constructive and adventurous.

From now on, you say, I am going to be as brave as a lion,

as firm as a rock, as kind as a dove, as active as an ant, as truthful as glass;

I will write a poem, paint a picture, compose a symphony, found a business, 

plant a tree, build a summerhouse, and repaper the dining room...

(These springtime resolutions) will provide some sort of answer

to the eternal question:

"What can one do about the spring?"

For something must be done, and soon,

or one will undoubtedly burst.*

See also here for Alicia's take on spring fever.

*Try Anything Twice - Jan Struther