I found a baseball in the backyard today

I found a baseball in the backyard today
It had been covered by a layer of snow
(Five layers, actually)
We had five snowstorms this year
Each layering on top of the other
Like layers of sedimentary rock

But today
The snow is almost gone
A plastic bag, a candy wrapper, soggy pieces of paper
And the baseball
Appear in the yard
The baseball is soggy, dirty, but intact

If I move the wet layer of leaves
I can see the first signs of daffodils
Pushing green out of the cold ground

Yet somehow
The baseball is an even
More hopeful
Sign of spring.