Snowdrops 20 years on

Snowdrops only appear for a short time
They arrive early and pass quickly
But they are so welcomed
A sign that the dark days will soon be over
The light will be longer

Warmth will return
Our heavy jackets and scarfs
will once more hang on the pegs
awaiting our next winter


One cold March morning
the darkness came and stayed
Jackets and scarfs
would be left unclaimed at the end of the day


Then the snowdrops began to appear
Millions of them
joined by signatures
of people who believed that
light could come
that something could be changed
out of this darkest of all days


Removal of the weapons
that brought the darkness
that they would do all they could
to bring hope
like the snowdrop
in its fragility
that tells us
summer is coming.