Chasing Snowflakes in Summer

Seasons – each perfect in its place – cycles of growth, slowing, rest and rebirth
But what if eternal summer takes hostage the earth?

Summer is lovely until it won’t end, wearily dissolving into a desert
Vacation turns to exile, looking for home, always on alert

I barely remember my last winter – I was a child when all was in balance.
Since then only a distant memory; a fleeting moment, a stolen glance

Piecing together fragments, I have a picture now
Snow bright, and deep, it weighs down a tree bough

Blanketing harsh landscape, softening corners, rounding edges
Drawing artful designs on all the cliffs and ledges

Peace takes over, the hustle bustle lays dormant
Jumping the track, everything stops for a moment

Magic overtakes even the most disgruntled old men
Footsteps recorded, journaling where you’ve been

Suddenly everything is different, new, simple, clean
Pause ordinary life, something special is happening!

I long for winter returning again– why am I so long deprived of rest?
Hibernate, take a break – from running and striving, every healing quest

Yearning for freedom to just be, to exist, to feel my skin tingle in the cold
But in this forever dry and barren land, I sense my frame growing old

Chasing snowflakes in summer – eyes wide open, searching for beauty so delicate
Intricate and fragile, here briefly then forever gone, fading, decadent

Around me dull brown, brittle leaves, meager harvest, thick air stifling
Cracked soil, dry creek, withered sprouts, exhausted from surviving

Midsummer’s rush, go, grow, travel, work, climb; using every last minute of daylight
I’m tired. I’ve climbed mountains, traversed long roads, can I turn down the next fight?

Bouncing from one drought to the next, never catching a break
A hundred mirages later, wondering if I’ll even recognize a lake

Begging the weatherman, please I need snow
Painting a canvas, sparkling clean, iridescent glow

A glimpse of relief; frosty morning, sharp inhale, the relief I crave
Not for long though, frozen fractals helpless against another heat wave

A single snowflake lands on my nose, tinge of cold and then melted wet
Frigid water running down my face, savor the moment

Honor that solitary soldier that braved the atmosphere to meet my face
Bronze it’s memory, hold sacred this space

Pioneering snow star, sailing through the skies
Meditate, connect to where it’s origin lies

Inner peace now, snow starts to fall
The running inside my head slows to a crawl

Perhaps, perhaps… No that couldn’t be!
Maybe all this time it’s source was inside of me!