End of Winter

It's the end of winter.
Yes, spring is not far away.
How many days before spring comes?
How much longer will this winter stay?

It's been so nicely arranged, to have
The darkest hour before dawn, and
The coldest season before it gets warm.

When it's so dark, we know that
The daybreak is there near the horizon.
When it's so cold, we know that
Spring will be here soon.

Oh, yes.
It's the end of winter.
Spring is not far away.
How many days before spring comes?
How much longer will this winter stay?

by Nan X. Wang
Published in "Best Poems of the '90s", 1996