Frozen Scene

by SL Ruth

Snow swirls silently
As I hesitate at the top
Of the ridge;
Pausing to absorb the splendor
Of the pristine and whitened world
Surrounding me.

Two magpies and three black crows
Perch atop tall trees
Like sentinals poised at Elysian gates;
Suddenly, as on timely cue, the magpies dive
From their obelisks, to hover
In the face of the glittered wind.

Both flail their wings, struggling
Then, deftly lift to the solitary peaks
Of two separate snow-laden evergreens;
The trees shudder, sifting
Off thin showers
Of crystal flakes.

The magpies ruffle their feathers
And settle in like the slick, black
Crows below them;
The image is frozen in my mind
And in my body through
Layers of thick insulation.

Snow envelops me
Hiding my skis, I lift them
Crunching the powder beneath;
My breath forms a hoary
Frost, like misted icing
Freezing my woolen mask.

I shift my weight with one last long
Survey of the scene
Cold permeates me;
I push off the edge of the world
And begin my own iced flight
Down the mountain.