White Christmas

We arrived in Tahoe to a snow storm that closed roads due to avalanches. After two days of storming while we sat by the fire and savored the glory of it all, we woke to brilliant sunshine. I took some photos of the glistening snow still hanging to the trees and was reminded of this poem by my favorite poet above all others.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. May your holidays be filled with sunshine and glistening hope.

First Snow

by Mary Oliver

The snow

began here

this morning and all day

continued, its white

rhetoric everywhere

calling us back to why, how,

whence such beauty and what

the meaning; such

an oracular fever! flowing

past windows, an energy it seemed

would never ebb, never settle

less than lovely! and only now,

deep into night,

it has finally ended.

The silence

is immense,

and the heavens still hold

a million candles; nowhere

the familiar things:

stars, the moon,

the darkness we expect

and nightly turn from. Trees

glitter like castles

of ribbons, the broad fields

smolder with light, a passing

creekbed lies

heaped with shining hills;

and though the questions

that have assailed us all day

remain – not a single

answer has been found -

walking out now

into the silence and the light

under the trees,

and through the fields,

feels like one.

3 Responses to “White Christmas” Subscribe

  1. apuginthekitchen December 25, 2012 at 11:49 am #

    Merry Christmas Susan and what a beautiful scene, for once I would love a white Christmas but in NYC it rarely occurs. Best wishes to you and your family have a wonderful holiday.
    apuginthekitchen recently posted..Sweet Potato PieMy Profile

  2. TasteFood December 25, 2012 at 12:44 pm #

    Lovely – have a wonderful white Christmas, Susan.
    TasteFood recently posted..Advent at Dusk and Danish AebleskiversMy Profile

  3. mjskit January 2, 2013 at 6:56 pm #

    Looks to me like you all had a wonderful Christmas and what a gorgeous place to spend it! While you were sitting by a cozy fire, we were in an air conditioned house trying to stay cool enough. :) At least the company was grand! Hope you are having a wonderful beginning to 2013!
    mjskit recently posted..Skippin’ Jenny (aka Hoppin’ John, Black-eyed peas)My Profile

Leave a Reply

CommentLuv badge

DIY

#SundaySupper: Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes

slow roasted tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar, how to slow roast tomatoes

This may not feel like much of a recipe to you, but this is one of my star kitchen staples these days. Frankly I need all the shortcuts I can find, with my time being gulped down by the gallon between remodeling a condo we recently [...]

Pin It

Herb-Y Leek Confit

Herb-y Leek Confit slider: The Wimpy Vegetarian

The champagne is  gone. All the holiday decorations boxed up and stored away with wrapping paper decorated with gold and green holly leaves, and Santa stickers. It’s January, the first month without a holiday to look forward to since the hot summer days of August. [...]

Pin It

Easy Whole-Wheat Pita Bread

  You might not guess it from this sedate photo, but these are the drama queens of bread, puffing up dramatically in just a few short minutes in a hot oven from the expansion of carbon dioxide and steam. When they cool off, they slowly [...]

Pin It

#SundaySupper Gifts From the Kitchen : Harissa!

Harissa Gift : The Wimpy Vegetarian

  This week at #SundaySupper, we’re sharing our Gifts From the Kitchen with you. If you’re wondering what gift to bring to a holiday dinner, or to a holiday gift exchange with friends and family, nothing is more personal and savored than something from your [...]

Pin It