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Thursday, December 8, 2011

Snow

White are the far-off plains, and white
The fading forests grow;
The wind dies out along the height,
And denser still the snow,
A gathering weight on roof and tree,
Falls down scarce audibly.
The road before me smooths and fills
Apace, and all about
The fences dwindle, and the hills
Are blotted slowly out;
The naked trees loom spectrally
Into the dim white sky.

The meadows and far-sheeted streams
Lie still without a sound;
Like some soft minister of dreams
The snow-fall hoods me round;
In wood and water, earth and air,
A silence everywhere.

Save when at lonely intervals
Some farmer's sleigh, urged on,
With rustling runners and sharp bells,
Swings by me and is gone;
Or from the empty waste I hear
A sound remote and clear;


The barking of a dog, or call
To cattle, sharply pealed,
Borne echoing from some wayside stall
Or barnyard far afield;
Then all is silent and the snow falls
Settling soft and slow.

The evening deepens and the grey
Folds closer earth and sky
The world seems shrouded, far away.
Its noises sleep, and I secret as
Yon buried streams plod dumbly on and dream.

Photos by Donna Keon
Song by Loreena McKennitt

5 comments:

  1. Ahh, beautiful. Was this of your weekend away with extended family? Looks like it was a stunningly beautiful one.

    Blessings...

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  2. Great photos, Mom! Those just brought me right back to last weekend even as I look out at the green grass on campus today. It WAS magical. And the song is lovely, too.

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  3. Lovely photos and one of my favorite songs from Loreena McKennit. Have you ever heard her album "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" recorded in the old parish of Our Lady on this hill in Guelph. So, so incredible.

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  4. Beautiful photos with matching words :)
    xo, Rosemary

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  5. I love this post! What beautiful words, and photos.

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