Celebrate spring in Seattle with these reader-submitted limericks

Any time the first 70-degree day of the year falls on a weekend, it can feel like a rare treat.

Even rarer is that these temperatures, which broke records across Western Washington last weekend, greeted us in March, on the weekend right before the start of spring, instead of their typical April arrival.

It will officially be spring in Seattle at 8:06 p.m. Tuesday, as the last bit of the season’s preview fades away and the tides turn us back to gray.

An incoming rainmaker will soak grounds across the region once again on Wednesday, tugging temperatures back down the thermometer to the mid-50s, or what is normal for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.

We asked readers last week to capture, in limerick, winter’s silent goodbye and the unfurling of spring. Your poems poured into our inbox; we received 62 reader submissions.

So, as some await more sunshine and others bemoan the passage of time, let’s mark the transition between seasons with the help of some limericks, shall we?

With some definitions of limericks stricter than others, we’ve included poems that follow the limerick rhyme scheme, allowing for some flexibility with meter.

Here are a few of our favorites.

In Seattle it rains hard all year,
Our food’s not that good, nor our beer,
At least that’s what I say,
To keep people away,
From my favorite views of Rainier.

— Alexandra Dolk

My husband and I disagree
how long the cold season should be:
“This winter’s too short!”
“This winter’s too long!”
Just guess who’s the one with the ski?

— Sonja Bonin

Once there was a woman in the County of King
Who sat and sat as she chewed on her things
When the rains came to end
She got up to unbend
And found her thighs had newly grown wings

— Saira Khan

My thermometer shows it’s exceeding
Much more than the typical reading.
With rain on the run
I welcome the sun,
And the SPF guide I’ll be heeding!

— Tony Ward-Smith

This winter wasn’t overly long
So complaining seems futile and wrong
So I’ll skip the whine
Enjoy the sunshine
And greet every warm day with a song.

— Bill Anderson

There once was a sad looking tree
It looked like a goner to me
But then came spring
And it put forth its bling
And now I am dancing with glee!

— Rhonda Bierma

Spring in the Northwest is tricky
With rain on the sidewalks all slicky
The sun may come out
But for only about
A minute or two, what a pity.

— Laurie Riley

That morning when birdsong first woke us,
And the garden was blooming in crocus,
It was daylight saving
That gilded the paving
And brought the new season to focus.

— Griffith H. Williams

The days are increasingly bright,
Filling my heart with delight.
Good tidings they bring,
With robins that sing
Farewell to the long winter’s night.

— Dave Taflin