Snow that crunched underfoot just last week makes a sighing
sound under my boots. Icicles that clutched the roofline have cried themselves to
death. Dawn came with a mere lightening of the sky, but birds sang as though
they knew the sun was somewhere rising; the cardinal and its mate dropped
liquid notes into the morning, the jay sang its squeaky wheel song.
Rain and then snow and then rain fall, a curtain of moisture
linking earth and air, making the snow and sky one color against which the
stark branches of elm and oak and maple are lightly penciled. The light is
cottony and soft, holding the day in suspension between brittle cold and
increasing warmth. Despite its lack of color and definition, it is a hopeful
day, easing the way between the end of winter and the beginning of spring,
teasing with its relaxation of winter’s cold grip on the land and our souls.
8 comments:
I have never read a more lyrical description of the mundane effects of snow melt.
I do so hope that winter will indeed be forced to relinquish its cold grip on the land.
After months of it the beauty of winter loses its appeal and an ardent yearning for spring takes over our souls.
we have ice and snow due here this evening....i am looking forward to it...our weather has been so crazy this year....i am ready for it to do it...or just give me spring...smiles.
I have to agree with Friko. Your writing is always beautiful.. no matter the mood you portray. This in between season is among the most drab but your words always shine.
I'll just echo Friko and Hilary...your words bring the day to life all around me and the hope of spring seeps from the page. Beautiful!
Lovely! Those poor icicles crying themselves to death!
i liked the icicles losing out.Fun to have spring approach, but I haven't had enough snow as usual.
A prose poem of hope: spring is on the way.
Friko - winter is on the run though it may look back over its shoulder as it goes, breathing ice.
Brian - to everything its season, or at least that used to be true. It seems now that the weather is getting even for our mucking about with the earth's atmosphere.
Hilary - I thank you and Friko for the kind words. They mean a lot coming from the two of you who write so wonderfully.
And Barbara - thank you, too! Praise from writers I admire makes me beam :)
Molly - I had that thought as a child and it's stuck all these years.
OOTP - I love winter when it's really winter with lots of snow and cold and blustery winds.
J - thank you - and spring IS on the way. The red-winged blackbirds have returned to our area and they are infallible harbingers of the seasonal change.
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