THE NIGHT THE WORLD FROZE
(A PAINTING UN-VIEWED)
Droplets became solid
As they fell.
A thick froth
Covered all the land
In a slick, transparent gauze
Made by the frozen rain.
Drooped heavy
As if in prayer—
Weighted limbs bowed
And cracked in freezing night.
Trees and grasses
Coated with ice—
In this hammered world
Became a landscape under cold glass
That exploded, fell
Then shattered within
Its own crystal dream
Hung in silence again.
Silence with
Smoky breath and numb fingers.
Searching for warm pockets
To hide the hands from
The burning froth.
While all before the eyes
Was frozen stiff
Locked in hidden time
As if within
A cold, crystal-glass dream.
Silent and still—
All was ice
In wait to be light.
© R. H. Peat/ 12/11/97 .
