Winter's Journey- A Poem

I have tried to sum up my thoughts best I can. This is on the fly but it will do, I think.



I walk along the path near the lake.
Crystal quiet with the snow glistening on the trees.
I can hear the rustle of the branches as the wind winds through.
I can see the frost form delicate lace upon any surfaces available.
My breath leaves traces of steam in the air.

The beauty of the winter heart moves my sluggish blood.
I appreciate the wonder of the cruel neutrality which offers no mercy.
Tis the cry of the desolate I hear.

The path is worn by the tread of tires and feet.
I can see the pebbles through the ice and snow, textures that rub against my boots.
My mittens are warm and fuzzy and stick with the snow.
The scarf around my neck is beacon red and keeps the chill from my throat.

I can see where the lake has broken through the ice.
The water is dark as diamonds in the moonlight, as pearls beneath the surface of the moon.
I can see bits of ice dash against the edges, blurring into slush.

My first step is breathtaking cold and I exhale all the warmth I had.
Water fills my boots and numbs my ankles along the way to my heart.
By the time I reach my thighs, I feel nothing but the cold erasing the agony inside.
It is Winter's Maiden returned to self and my hair transforms into ice and strands of crystal beads.

I take a final look up through the surface, glints of sunlight turning the blue into prisms of azure.
I am the mermaid, the selkie, the wanderer returned home.
There are no regrets to my Journey back to where I came.
My last thoughts are of you. And you. And Love and loss.
I kiss you through the waves.


K.