A Thousand Suns

After a wild and crazy 5 inches of snow, I wait to see what today will be like. It turned to beautiful yesterday, with the bluest of skies, but windy. The wind blew from the north, and then the south, the south, and then the north. Dark clouds appeared, and broke before the sun. Then the sun disappeared behind dark clouds...the unicorn herds move too swiftly for the cats to hunt. And the wind blows, and blows, and skitters, and wraps around the tree tops and spins them. Scarves are twisted up into the sky, along with hair, and faces are turned left, right, to face and unface the wind.

The wind forms eddies, to snatch hats from heads, and conspires to lift my own self above the ground. Leaves are everywhere in the yard, they bang against the dog on his lead, and cover my face when I go out. There are millions of leaves, and each one raked, returns to it's place every night, or closer to the door, where they crouch like hungry mice trying to get in. The cats chase them, or hurry past, as if they were beggars on the street.

The ground is wet, and covers shoes, and ramps, and sidewalks. Pieces of snow still piled here and there, white and mud colored in the field, grey in the City. Rampant water, the snow melt, flows over everything, and the sun shines too bright, glinting, yes, actual glinting off of the snow, and the running water. There are a thousand suns.

Breath steams, or blows, or is taken by the wind. The tulips and trees drink and drink and drink more. Sometimes I step out, and return to take off, or to add a scarf, or a coat. Sometimes my feet freeze but I only wear a shirt and a scarf. The wind dries the land, but there is always more water, running in streamlets down the buildings and cars, across the ground. It pools in hollows.  The dog walks through a small lake to get to high ground, under his tree. The pool fills with snow and sleet and rain.

And the dog wants out now, into the dawn, and the first glimmer and the cats huddle next to the heater. I sit here with my coffee, and wait for the sun.