The First Tulip of Spring

The first tulip of Spring
Margaret E. Holt


Today is March 16, 2006-
So it “officially” isn’t Spring.
Nonetheless my first tulip has opened its petals.
The others still are closed.
Why did this one peek at the sky earlier than its neighbors in my garden?
Did it want to beat the other guests to the party?
Did it think there could be an advantage being firstborn?
Or is it afraid the chances to see the earth may be wearing thin?
What does this first tulip know?


“After ages during which the earth produced harmless trilobites and butterflies, evolution progressed to the point at which it has generated Neros, Genghis Khans, and Hitlers. This, however, I believe is a passing nightmare; in time the earth will become again incapable of supporting life, and peace will return.” Bertrand Russell