Necessary Process

The arctic blast has come. Temps dropped so low last night. When I got up this morning, it was 7 degrees. In many other places, the temp was below zero. For now, it is a balmy 21 degrees here (feels like 7). I watched a creator on TikTok who lives in The Gulf. They have snow! Unbelievable! How do you tell the difference between the snow and sand there? Both are white. I’ve been keeping warm in my robe and drinking hot coffee and herbal tea. I am grateful for my heat sources. I do dread the electric bill.

 

This is how it is, the way of nature. After this, a climatical change will come by the end of this month called, “The January Thaw.” I have noticed these changes over the years so I know what to expect. It is sometimes so warm, that the daffodils emerge. And when the cold returns in February, it’s as though they say, “Not yet.” and they stay there for a while, no blooms, just little green stems poking through the soil. Then more snow arrives, wet snow, a heavier kind, not as biting, and this is the kind of snow for making snowmen and sledding.

 

The harsh times have to come and stay for a while so that Spring can arrive in all its glory, a necessary process. It seems the same process within humanity and in ourselves individually.

BESIDE THE MILL

Beside the mill and in velvet snow

I stood

gripped by treasurous sights

Sky and clouds, silver

Let me indulge

Iced over bridge

leads onward with my path

I will follow you

Through snowdrifts I see

evergreens peeping

glittering trees, ageless and timeless

This isn’t the first you’ve seen

scenes so cold and solemn

Snowbirds sing ever sweetly

amongst your crackling branches

attempting to cheer the day

Distant sounds of trickling water

Creekbed glimmers with patches of ice

Covered banks preside over

the methodical stream

I shiver and take one last glance

and walk on

It is time to be inside

Yes, time to be warm

©VSC