A pea-green shoot pokes out of the ground.Through the last sprinkle of snow,It stretches.Straightens.Reaching towards the sky, it whispers,“Spring. Spring. Spring.”It battles the icy windAnd the winter-beaten mud.SlowlyA bud grows,Rounder, bigger, smoother.One day…Yellow.Finally.Five fairy petals caress the warming air,Surrounding a golden crown.A lone beam of sunshine,Among browns and grays.Head high,It is the herald of spring,Announcing the arrival of sunshine,The birds, andOther daffodils.