January’s twilight
hours draw me
into her pale embrace
stalactites and frozen
streams whisper
that winter’s skin
is thin even with
months to go
flowing water
is muted
under seeded snow
underground roots
pulse
with light
sleeping
forest boughs
wake in wild winds
crack and moan
rest in peace
at dawn
bears sleep
fox and weasel
seek slivers of
open water
I walk in slow
motion to
stay upright
at the edge
of a meandering
serpentine stream
listening for
the scent
of just one
hemlock singing
feeling the tangles
of gray and green
Indoors
standing at the window
I ask
how many
forested eyes
are meeting my own?
Even in deep winter I am no longer separate from earth and sky. How did this happen I ask myself after years of feeling bereft for months as winter white dragged on? These days even when confined indoors my windows let in the light I have longed for, though my aging eyes grow dim. Although it is harder for me to traverse a frozen landscape after breaking my hip last year, I continue to snowshoe over the snow and stand out under the stars seeking the Light of the Great Bear and the Animal Powers. Circles and cycles overlap. Along with the Great Bear who circumnavigates the sky Earth is spinning – bringing with her ‘First Light’.
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