Dear Readers: Wishing you and your families a very happy Easter and Passover. Spring is a time to get outdoors and play. It is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts. It is a time when the flowers begin to bloom and kittens are born. Below are some of my favorite poems about spring and joy and the innocence and beauty of childhood.

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“Spring” by William Blake

“Sound the flute! / Now it’s mute! / Bird’s delight, / Day and night, / Nightingale, / In the dale, / Lark in sky, — / Merrily, / Merrily merrily, to welcome in the year. / Little boy, / Full of joy; / Little girl, / Sweet and small; / Cock does crow, / So do you; / Merry voice, / Infant noise; / Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year. / Little lamb, / Here I am; / Come and lick / My white neck; / Let me pull / Your soft wool; / Let me kiss / Your soft face; / Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.”

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“Infant Joy” by William Blake

“I have no name / I am but two days old. — / What shall I call thee? / I happy am / Joy is my name, — / Sweet joy befall thee! / Pretty joy! / Sweet joy but two days old, / Sweet joy I call thee; / Thou dost smile. / I sing the while / Sweet joy befall thee.”

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“Lines Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth

“I heard a thousand blended notes, / While in a grove I sate reclined, / In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts / Bring sad thoughts to the mind. / To her fair works did Nature link / The human soul that through me ran; / And much it grieved my heart to think / What man has made of man. / Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, / The periwinkle trailed its wreaths; / And ‘tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes. / The birds around me hopped and played, / Their thoughts I cannot measure: — / But the least motion which they made / It seemed a thrill of pleasure. / The budding twigs spread out their fan, / To catch the breezy air; / And I must think, do all I can, / That there was pleasure there. / If this belief from heaven be sent, / If such be Nature’s holy plan, / Have I not reason to lament / What man has made of man?

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“The World-Soul” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Spring still makes spring in the mind / When sixty years are told: / Love wakes anew this throbbing heart, / And we are never old / Over the winter glaciers / I see the summer glow / And through the wind-piled snowdrift / The warm rosebuds below.”

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“Easter Bunny” by Leanne Guenther

“With a hip and a hop — / Easter bunny won’t you stop, / At my house to hide some yummy little eggs. / Then you’ll jump out and run — / Down the street for some fun, / Zippity quick on your fuzzy, furry legs. / To hide treats for the others — / Boys and girls — even mothers, / Treats galore packed in baskets and bright bags!”

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“How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology — featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit Creators Publishing for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].