Hush Hush…

Hush hush quiet now…

we are leaving the rush of things to get done

and missions to accomplish…

Journeying deep into the white woods,

covered in crystalized snow.

Crunching beneath feet and huffing of breath

the only sounds now

as thin streams of sunlight

dance on the glossy surface

of what was once a playfully dancing mountain creek.

Artfully curled layers of ice hint at the movement

that was halted by the cold touch of Mother Winter…

as tender bubbles of air beg for release beneath the freeze.

I pause, strained from the long walk through deep snow,

feeling the weight and the slowness

of these short cold days in my body…

the blood thick in my veins…

each cell and muscle longing to retreat into the deep

yearning for permission to hibernate and dream.

I pause and I listen.

Hush hush quiet now…

We have arrived

To where the river whispers her secret messages

Coldest of waters, almost frozen, still trickling beneath layers of ice…

with a voice like a grandmother…

carrying the ancient wisdom of the white season

for those who can slow down enough to hear…