January

As I breathe in the numbing January air, I can feel my muscles tense up, as if gathering closer to one another for warmth. The sunlight hits my eyes as I step out onto my patio; A place as familiar to me as my own reflection, masked under a sheet of glistening white. I look up in awe at the millions of petite dancers in flawless white gowns, gliding back and forth… headliners in nature’s timeless musical. The morning birds are busy going about their routine. They let out a practiced chorus of tweets that seems to resonate from every direction.

  A misshapen clump of frozen white lands on my sleeve. As I focus my attention on the tuft of snow perched on my arm, I am amazed by the drastic contrast of white on black. As I look closer, more details appear. Intricate patterns and beautiful crystalized forms, no two alike. I can’t help but ask myself, is this not the truest form of art? My eyes feast greedily on nature’s beautiful craftsmanship as endless webs of woven ice come together to form the shroud that now covers our sleeping world.