for Corinne, skate skier extraordinaire
The meadow was a violent scourge of white,
and still we chose to leave our cars and ski.
The wind and blowing snow obscured our sight,
lashed through our hats and stole our breath, but we
leaned into it and laughed, as if the storm
were nothing more than an excuse to be
more brave, more willing to eschew what’s warm
so we might face our fear, find joy in risk—
and sure enough, I felt myself transform
from nervousness to animated bliss—
and we for hours skied amidst the gusts
and for that time, knew nothing more than this:
to meet the crazy storm. When scared, to thrust
ourselves into the howling world. And trust.
Beautiful
thank you!
Even though I’m pretty certain I know to whom this poem is dedicated, I love it. You pulled me thoroughly in with, violent scourge of white. (As for Monday’s snow and wind, while running my errands around town, I pondered whether I should have gone ahead and brought my tele skis—to make my getting around, easier.)
I also delighted in your use of, lashed, at the beginning of the second stanza. Lash is not used commonly enough as a verb. Too, it initiates the alliteration which includes, leaned and laughed. Likewise, I love the ending words of each line of your closing couplet. (And what if those two words swapped places? Okay, doing so doesn’t quite work, seems awkward and odd. Still… Well, you know me and m wordplay.)
thanks amigo mio! It was a fun poem to write and a really fun afternoon in the gale! I changed the last two lines a little. I had, in fact, tried to figure out how to change those last two words around… and gave up, but did a little rewrite of those lines which I think helps it out …
See you tonight!