Up at dawn, ski pants, snow

boots, mittens and warmest

coat found and pulled on

and a vest for Miss Luna.

We are the first to venture

out into the world of white.

And when we stop, the

total stillness, the silence

is there, always there.

Luna off leash prances

ahead, often looking back

to ensure I am still there.

I take baby steps to cross

the wooden bridge over

the creek listening to the

crunch of my boots. I see

bare branches transformed

into works of art. A gaggle

of geese is huddled on the

shore and mirrored on

the pond making two

rows until our presence

causes them to waddle

into the water and swim

away. Our prints in the

pristine snow take me

back to childhood when

my brother and I rushed

to be the first out, laughing

as we lay down in the snow

to make our snow angels.

Today I intentionally halt,

and it’s the silence, the hush,

the utter stillness, the beauty,

the sense of something more

that fills me with gratitude and joy.