Spirit Sentries

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

The snow began at half-past midnight
It's ebbed and flowed, sped and slowed
But it has not stopped since that dark hour

Half a foot by afternoon
More, much more
Than predicted, than expected
More yet now
Surprise, blessing undisguised

Silence reigns
It has all night, all day, all night again
A layer, a cushion, 
Muffling sound beneath a pearlescent blanket
Pure cold, yet oddly warm

All day, the trees have watched,
Allowed the feathery white to rest upon their limbs,
Waited 

They fade into the darkness now
No longer visible, yet still they stand
Sentries, 
Watchers,
Landmarks by which the wingéd escorts chart their flight

Still they will stand upon the morrow
And the one after that
As long as needed
Eternity

Watching, waiting 
Reaching out their arms, 
Aided by the snowy blanket
To enfold a spirit in their embrace

To hold it from that brief moment
Before those with wings arrive to lift it
To carry it onto the snowy currents
To keep it aloft until it finds its own wings

Until the spirit flies under the strength of its own joy
As it will.







All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.