Snowbound

Snowbound dawn of a new ‘Family Day’,

no urgent need to dress and go,

I sip hot coffee in solitary silence,

paused in luxuries of a borrowed life.

Lush plants, plush rugs, cushioned chairs,

sleeping fireplace, sleeping dog…

I wonder where the toaster sleeps?

Outside, the lake’s an austere setting

to snow-clad cedars and ragged birch,

their boughs and bark in frenzied motion,

yet going nowhere, snowbound like me.

Snow swirls in air, spiraling here and there.

I see it mimic the spiral designs

on ribbon and plant pots placed inside.

(How did I know? I quietly ask myself.

I’d spoken of spirals, energies and designs,

before the spiral jump of this here and now.

Time appears linear, yet is not, and so…)

Snowflakes dance up and down and around

in whirling pirouettes of mesmerizing beauty.

Strong winds swiftly lift and carry them

in a graceful ballet of elegant motion.

Sculptured dunes of frozen water waves

gently shape-shift as stroking air brushes

snow on snow on snow…

The drifts grow higher; paths disappear.

Family and ploughs and shovels are coming,

but for now, I can dream-dance freely

with the snow of a snowbound day.

shelley wilson—‘ariel-shelley’

February 18, 2008