Virginal tableau of ice and snow,

Cloudless sky of photonic bliss,

Serenity whispers in my ear

And the universe rests.

A thunderous snap

Violently tears the silence

Only to be swallowed

By the gentle murmur

Of a newborn breeze.

Almost imperceptibly,

The tableau is broken;

Minor movements barely felt,

Tinny cracks inaudibly sensed.

Newly formed leaves turn to watch

The millimeter march of white

As snow and ice shift to shore.

Pushing, crawling, clawing,

An unrelenting progress

Of unimaginable ruin.

Unslaked with its beachhead,

It forces onward and inland,

Carving glacial paths toward homes.

Bending trees, crushing fences,

Invading homes, uprooting lives,

Until the breeze subsides

And serenity returns to the lake

To contrast broken lives.

(Images used without permission; copyright ctvnews.ca)

Learn more about the destruction at Dauphin Lake and our ongoing under-appreciation of Nature’s ability to take back what is hers.