A World of Quiet Beauty

White sleeps in furrows and in folds
Crystalline, while the sun’s pale gold
Ice-cold air becomes a breeze
Stirring the branches of skeletal trees

As every river strains to run
The weaker light beams of the sun
Tease thin shadows out at dusk
Making the landscape all the more hushed

The frosted surface may retain
Reflected light so bright it burns
Yet every shift in the terrain
Replaces edges with softening curves

And when the laden clouds regroup
There’s silence as the snowflakes fall
And build their layers on each roof
On leafless tree limbs, on boundary walls

The hands of wind and water
Give the winter shape
Entrancing unlike any other season

The cast the landscape takes
The subtle, soothing palette
Of snow in all its shades,
When set against the bluest sky,
Can steal our breath away

So serene
This winter scene
Enchanted land
Evoking dreams
So serene
This winter scene
A world of quiet beauty