As the snow blows across the landscape outside, and layer upon layer of pure clean white flakes settle, I watch the wind shake yet more from the branches of the elm and birch trees that are so plentiful hereabouts. Now and then birds settle for a moment, and then take off once more to repeat the performance for another set of eyes, somewhere else. A old man is walking his dog, and the dog is sniffing at the snow, as if every flake is somehow radically different to the last. The man follows along slowly, enjoying the walk, the cold, the snow, but most of all he is enjoying his friend as he tugs on the long leash, exploring the delights of a tree lined, suburban winter.
Standing, watching from the safety of the trees, a solitary deer grazes at a paucity of winter grasses. His antlers pierce the winter air, and his head bobs as his doleful, liquid brown eyes survey the man and his dog. I wonder, as I watch, “Would the deer be led so merrily as the dog? Would he revel in the warmth of the man’s log fire, and repose there with the man’s canine friend?” I think not… I trust the deer knows the haven of the forest, even as it brushes the crowd of houses at its brink.
Yet, here in this room, peering voyeuristically across the way, I am detached. So much beauty, everywhere, to behold… In man, and in nature… So much beauty… Were that I had the words to make the scene come to life…
Standing, watching from the safety of the trees, a solitary deer grazes at a paucity of winter grasses. His antlers pierce the winter air, and his head bobs as his doleful, liquid brown eyes survey the man and his dog. I wonder, as I watch, “Would the deer be led so merrily as the dog? Would he revel in the warmth of the man’s log fire, and repose there with the man’s canine friend?” I think not… I trust the deer knows the haven of the forest, even as it brushes the crowd of houses at its brink.
Yet, here in this room, peering voyeuristically across the way, I am detached. So much beauty, everywhere, to behold… In man, and in nature… So much beauty… Were that I had the words to make the scene come to life…
