Shivering with loneliness, I looked away from the dark open sky punctured with stars. I half feared that it would draw me into it, into the cold void to be torn apart by the emptiness. My fears deafened me to the first twittering in the branches, but when a chorus began in the bush beside me, I looked up and there on the tip of the nearest hill the grass was smouldering. Something surged within me, and I wished I could sing with the birds. Letting the feeling engulf me, I hardly noticed when something blundered right past me through the undergrowth.
At last, the first rays spread their warmth in me, and I felt like my whole being expanded, already growing. Welcome, my love! I wanted to shout, as I imagined myself growing tall and strong, soon leaving my neighbours far behind, growing right up to kiss his burning face. And I wanted to praise spring with all my being and thank her for giving my love back the strength I had missed for so long.