snow

i didn't realize that we'd been blanketed by snow until the sun woke me by lancing brilliantly through the eaves towards my head, energized by the reflection off streets, trees, roofs. and even then, i blinked through the glare and didn't understand why the rectangle was bright, why i couldn't see the scraggly limbs across the way, why the colors were warm instead of dingy.

it was quiet. i couldn't hear tires struggling to produce traction, or plows scraping the ice, or the drips of slipping snowbanks. i couldn't hear the confused birdsong, the urgent gusts.

on days like this, i cannot bear to be the first to break the silence.

12 February 2018 23:09