WINTER

A blanket of snow silences the world.  Time stands still and everything seems to fall into a peaceful slumber.  When the sun shines, false warmth emanates from the frozen world, masking a bitter and dangerous cold.   From the warmth of our homes, it can be so easy to forget how fragile our lives are in this beautiful and deadly season.

Snow:

years of anger following

hours that float idly down —

the blizzard

drifts its weight

deeper and deeper for three days

or sixty years, eh? Then

the sun! a clutter of

yellow and blue flakes —

Hairy looking trees stand out

in long alleys

over a wild solitude.

The man turns and there —

his solitary track stretched out

upon the world.

           - WIlliam Carlos Williams, Blizzard