I looked upon the outer wild and saw
A bed of snow thick blanketed upon
The ground — an ermine bleached as death’s pale hands
And plush as heavy clouds that brought it forth.
Unnatural though ‘twas, a beauty deep
It held and gripped that eyes that chanced upon’t,
The Winter’s final gasp ‘fore Spring did come
And altogether give it yearlong rest.
A quietness held fast upon the woods;
The birds, their vernal work arrested by
The icy tide that overwashed the world,
All huddled fast against the biting frost.
The creatures that on foot do scurry by
Beheld the selfsame snow and bunkered too,
Hibernal habitations now resumed
To ward off chill and bide ‘til warmth’s return.
And yet, while animals both great and small
Did season’s quick reversion all behold
And wonder at, ‘twas overlooked by man,
That animal who thinks he rulest all.
He hurried on his way to spite the turn
Of nature that had inconvenienced life
By playing with the pattern he had formed
And forced to will the world toward his goals.
An obstacle, this snow, an onus now
To add to those already laden high.
But, in so misassessing, he’d o’erlooked
The beauty all arrayed before his eyes.
For as the sun did through clouds’ cover breach
To cast its glow across the fields so white,
A radiance anew sprang forth as sky
And ground reflected th’other’s amber hues.
As diamonds glint and pearls do opalesce,
Each leaf upon each tree in snow attired
Behaved the same and scintillated bold
Their golden beams t’illumine all the earth.
The flowers that had lain by cover hid
Offshook their bonds, revealing noble dress;
The gentle breeze stirred forth by newer warmth
Did lead them once again in joyous dance.
New blades forged not for death but formed of life
Stabbed forth, their wounds not crimson but a green
That sang as loudly as the avi’n choir
Now waked again from momentary rest.
The brooks that had by Winter’s touch been hushed
Burst forth and babbled loudly songs that spoke
The hope for newer growth that flowed within
Their banks, the water’s touch the source of life.
And last the trees, spurred on by thawing light,
Did tousle off the frigid weight that bound —
A shimm'ring phantom waterfall that laughed
Aloud and bound to join the streams below.
Yea, all of nature did assemble, joined
As chorus filling earth with joyful chords
To herald Spring’s renewal ‘midst the cold
That had brought but an instant’s quiet pause.
A world awoken by the light of day
Proclaimed the harsh and cold of night was passed;
It set again upon its proper course
To emanate Spring’s lustre to the last.
'Tis not the Winter's chill that speaks this tale
Nor Springtime's warmth that spins the glor'ous yarn,
'Tis not in monologue proclaimed, but in
The harm'nied turning 'twixt the two ‘tis found.
This beauty birthed not sole from Winter’s womb
Nor crafted only by the hand of Spring
Is forged in company by sudden shift
From one unto the next. The glory lies
In transformation, in the change that’s worked
When what rests dead is suddenly revealed
To live more fully than it did before —
A miracle wrought in a moment’s blink.
This beauty new can only be beheld
When viewed in light of former agony;
The birds of Spring, the blooms upon the ground
Work on, that one day all of men may see.