Friday 18 January 2013

Winter Wonderland


I read somewhere once that whatever season you're born into, that is the season you belong to all your life. It claims you, and you it; it settles in your bones - seasonal sediment. This is certainly true for me: I was born in a bitter February, and I am a child of Winter through and through.

It finally snowed last night, although - yet again! - barely anything remained this morning, just a thin layer of white, motheaten by sleet into a holey sort of lace. But when I left for the eight o’clock train, it was beginning to fall again, cautiously, delicately; by the time I reached work it was flying thick and fast, the ground crunching underfoot and the pines around the office shelved with it, so they looked like Christmas trees waiting for presents, white-ribboned, white-wrapped.

I don’t know what it is about snow. It isn’t the novelty of it, although perhaps that’s a very small part of why I love it so much. It’s the way it gentles everything. Gone, the gum-studded pavements; gone, the bleak bricks; gone, the usual boring views. Left in their place like a changeling: an expanse of white, glittering and clean, a casual sort of miracle, a holy sort of hush.

I love the way it creaks underfoot; I love the way that bootprints leave trackable paths, like the words on a page, or the clues on a treasure hunt: follow me, let me take you on a journey…

Snow is Narnia, and lanterns, and sleigh bells, snow is Christmas even in the Spring; snow is an icy fire in the cheeks and every finger throbbing with its own heartbeat.

It seems to have stopped now for the most part, although the forecasts are saying that more is on the way, and the sky is suitably wide and white, so I’m hopeful, I’m hopeful.

And let this be my moment of gratitude for today, also. The loveliness of snow. The poetry of nature.




7 comments:

  1. <3 winter is truly where my heart is. There is just something about snow that is so...pure.
    Much love xx

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  2. Mine too :)

    Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment xxx

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  3. Loving your words... sharing the joy!

    http://my-purple-dreams.blogspot.com/2013/01/liebster-part-3-recognition-and.html

    xo

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  4. I am a Spring baby and as you know me it is probably pretty evident ;)
    The snow is my poetry also.
    My camera tells a thousand tales..
    This is beautiful <3

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  5. Thank you Lovely! x And I think I could have guessed you were a Spring baby...you're like one of those new little buds, hopeful and determined with all of her flowers ahead of her :)

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  6. Oh my gosh, I couldn't agree more! I am a child of the Autumn (October) and I am SO connected to it. It's magical for me every year. And I have even written poetry about being a child of the fall. :-)

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  7. Cheryl, so beautifully written once again! - 'a casual sort of miracle, a holy sort of hush'. I loved reading your very poetic sentiments on the season! Like Sia-Jane, I'm a Spring baby too and am holding out for its greening to come along - but I must say, you make a very good case for winter.
    (I'm halfway through reading Adam Gopnik's essays on the season - 'Winter: Five Windows on the Season' - you might like it!)

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