After a Long Winter

Eileen O’Hara

我們在經歷漫長而艱難的冬天后會感到迷茫和不知所措，但通過每天朝著目標邁出一小步，學習如何從不同的視角看待生活，發現其中的美，我們就可以找到希望，并創造有意義且充實的生活。

Spring air is different from winter air.Tree branches are serrated with red bud teeth.Later,they grow chartreuse1)fuzz,making pale green2)aurasin the sun.Summer leaves will be dark,but spring leaves let the light through.

The birds are out,sharing their news from bushes to branches.Cats are still3)curledup on fire escapes.They are in no hurry to get up in the cool morning air and they know it will warm up later.They are watching the birds.They can wait.

The air is clear,clean,cool.The smells are tiny smells,little whiffs of green,a ribbon of brown mud,the blue smell of the sky.Midday is mild enough for short sleeves.I eat my lunch outside,sitting on a warm brick wall.The breeze lifts my hair and4)rifflesthe edge of my skirt.I have to squint.Everything tastes better.

Until today I had been too huddled in my winter coat to notice the quiet coming of flowers.Suddenly,5)daffodilssmile in my face,parrot tulips wave their beaky petals,and fragrant white blossoms are pinned to dogwood trees like bows in a young girl’s hair.

The evening is soft.I need my thin jacket.It’s still light out when I walk home from the Metro.I could walk for hours.Like a kid playing street games with her friends,I don’t want to go in.

When I went to work this morning,I left my windows open.Spring came in through the screens while I was gone.It’s as if I had used a big sliver key and rolled back the roof like a lid on a sardine can.The indoors smell like the outdoors.It will be like lying down in the grass to sleep.The sheets are cool.The quilt is warm.The light fades outside my windows.This weekend,I think I’ll wash my car.

1) fuzzn.絨毛

2) auran.氣味；氣氛

3) curlv.蜷縮；彎曲

4) rifflev.迅速翻動

5) daffodiln.水仙花

春天的空氣不同于冬天的空氣。春天的樹枝上長滿了帶有鋸齒狀的紅色花芽。然后，它們長出了黃綠色絨葉，在陽光下散發出淡淡的清香。夏天的樹葉顏色較深，但春天的樹葉能透過陽光。

鳥兒飛出，把它們的消息從灌木叢帶向樹枝。貓咪仍舊蜷縮在防火梯上，不急著出來走動。早上空氣有些清涼，但會慢慢暖和起來，這個貓咪知道。它們在盯著小鳥的一舉一動，等候不是問題。

空氣清新干凈，又涼爽。空氣中散發出一些淡淡的氣味，有一小陣青綠的味道，有一絲棕色泥土味，還有天空的湛藍味道。中午暖和得可以穿短袖了。我坐在外面一堵曬暖的磚墻上吃午飯，風吹起了我的發梢，裙擺隨風起伏，陽光下我得瞇著眼睛，一切食物嘗起來都覺得更可口了。

我一直裹在我冬日的大衣里，直到今天我才注意到花兒的悄然綻放。突然，水仙花對著我微笑，鸚鵡郁金香擺動著它們喙狀的花瓣，芳香的白色花朵被別在茱萸上，就像一個年輕姑娘頭上扎的蝴蝶結。

傍晚的感覺是輕柔的。我需要我那件薄外套。當我從地鐵站走回家時，天還很明亮。我能夠連續走幾小時，像一個和朋友在街上玩游戲的孩子一樣，不想回家。

今天早上去上班時，我讓窗子開著。我走后，春天通過窗口進來。這就好像我用了一把巨大的銀鑰匙，像開沙丁魚罐頭的蓋子那樣把屋頂掀開了似的。屋內聞起來和外面一樣，就像躺在草地上睡覺一樣，床單是涼的，被子是暖的。窗外的光線逐漸變暗。這個周末，我想我要洗洗我的車子了。