The slowness of spring shadows

I have stopped by woods on a snowy evening.
It’s a sublime slanting sun, and,
camera in hand,
I come upon the hoped-for scene.

The reaching trees, silhouettes of bareness.
The furnace of the sun,
a smudge of burnt orange behind the ridge,
imparts a hue, a twilight blue
to the mile-long shadows in the powdery glitter.

I click and click with frantic abandon,
not wanting to lose this singular zenith of beauty.
How many shots? a hundred? a thousand?
I will take them home-
enhance them, adobe them, candy coat them
until they look, they look…
like those coffee table books that no one reads.

So,  I turn to go, my anticipation tempered now.
I look back once more, in regret.
The deep blue shadows slowly lengthen
as the sun pours dark red lava down the hillside.

I stop. Upon a stump I sit.
There is longevity here, a longevity of bliss.
And now I know why those beautiful heavy books
have sticky pages and dusty covers
pristine of fingerprints.

22 Comments

  1. Pradita Kapahi says:
    March 20, 2018 at 9:26 am

    Sometimes life takes your breath away, doesn’t it?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Bespoke Traveler says:
    March 19, 2018 at 9:40 pm

    You’ve so poignantly expressed that never achievable gap between the beauty we behold in nature with our senses and the one we seek to share with others on two-dimensional surfaces.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 10:21 pm

      Thank you, that was the feeling I had.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. mandibelle16 says:
    March 19, 2018 at 8:05 pm

    I really like this. It puts the reader right in the moment and it’s catching!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      Thanks so much!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  4. Grateful Single Mom says:
    March 19, 2018 at 5:45 pm

    Beautiful!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 5:53 pm

      Thank you!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. Isabelle says:
    March 19, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    The words so beautiful. The image so breathtaking. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 5:53 pm

      Thank you so much Isabelle!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. -Eugenia says:
    March 19, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    Beautiful piece and beautiful image, as well.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 5:10 pm

      Thanks so much!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  7. bcparkison says:
    March 19, 2018 at 1:53 pm

    It is true..the scene can change in the blink of the eye.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Mercy Swu says:
    March 19, 2018 at 9:52 am

    Lovely… This is a masterpiece 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 2:50 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind remark!

      Like

      Reply
      1. Mercy Swu says:
        March 19, 2018 at 2:51 pm

        Please keep writing 😊😊

        Liked by 1 person

  9. drewdog2060drewdog2060 says:
    March 19, 2018 at 6:47 am

    I very much enjoyed reading your poem, the first line of which reminds me of Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening”. Best, Kevin

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 2:49 pm

      Thank you, Kevin.

      Like

      Reply
  10. Phyllis Rogers says:
    March 19, 2018 at 6:28 am

    Reblogged this on Life On The Lake.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 2:49 pm

      Thank you very much!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Phyllis Rogers says:
        March 20, 2018 at 12:33 am

        You are very welcome. I loved it!

        Liked by 1 person

  11. drewdog2060drewdog2060 says:
    March 19, 2018 at 6:23 am

    Reblogged this on newauthoronline.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Lee Dunn says:
      March 19, 2018 at 2:48 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Like

      Reply

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