Revelation

Snow falls softly, so white
And if it melts soon,
The mind recalls only
The whiteness, the softness
Like a blessing on the branches.

But when the cold keeps
Snow beyond its youth,
We begin to see the dirt–
Black hydrocarbons
Staining the pure crystals.

The impurity is there,
All year round.
But on the grass,
On the pavement,
It won’t show its taint.
Only when the white snow
Lasts beyond its birthday
Do we know our own darkness.

Or, is the airy stuff of sky,
The water droplets,
Frozen in crystal flakes,
Airily drifted on the ground,
Taking the stuff of earth,
Incarnating, and dwelling among us?
And, loitering beyond its day,
Too, too solid flesh,
Displays the wages of all life.

Jan. 6 and 11 and 30, 2008