The following poem and commentary following it are from Arun Shanbhag's blog. He has some beautiful, haunting pictures of early spring flowering accompanying this poem. The blog itself is wonderful -- a glimpse into the heart of a very good man, and into his life in Boston and India. And you will find recipes and exercises and more literature to boot.
The days that used to lie
curled up,
numbed
by penetrating frost,
bit by bit
stretch out
their limbs
now that winter’s past.
curled up,
numbed
by penetrating frost,
bit by bit
stretch out
their limbs
now that winter’s past.
~ Sri Dharanidhara
from Vidyadhara’s Subhaashita Ratnakosha
Translated from the Sanskrit by Daniel HH Ingalls, Harvard University Press
Vidyadhara probably compiled this before the year 1100. He had
access to the library housed in the ancient monastery of Jagaddala. The
original verses were most likely composed between the 8th and 10th
century.