snow kissed soldiers.

many dread the hand of old man winter.
the ice.
the chill.
the havoc he wreaks on roads, vehicles and anything else that was forgotten from summer.
we tend to focus so much on all the bad that he brings in on his heels that we often fail to see the beauty he leaves in his tracks.
driving along interstate 80, it's hard not to be distracted by the statuesque cars sitting covered in snow or the blinking lights of tow trucks pulling them to safety. however, out the passenger side window is a glimpse of another personality that simply whispers your name rather than yelling at you.
look closely at the branches hanging overhead, at the tree trunks as the reach toward heaven. they have been kissed by the iced and dusted in snow so that all that lies before you are silent soldiers camouflaged in powder.
they stand watch over the hills that have now been blanketed in layers, lying in wait for spring when they will bring forth new life.
and if you take a breath and let yourself be pulled into it, you will see that it all gives off a subtle shine as if the landscape is winking at you as you go by.

i took in my landscape yesterday on our sunday drive and realized that i too have been touched by old man winter.
i am a soldier kissed by time.
i have shed my leaves.
i stand silent and waiting for new ones to grow.
each one different than the one that grew in its place before.
all the while, reaching for heaven.
i am the hills blanketed in white.
protected. protective. quiet.
the thaw will come in the spring.
and i will with it, bring forth new life.
until then, i will remain in hibernation.
observing my surroundings.
observing those who surround me.
observing the quiet growth that occurs even when sprinkled with a stillness in time.

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." - Albert Camus

go well.