on this winter's day the sun 

besparkles new snow, bestows

luster to crystal clear icicles, lends

warmth to the air, light to the soul.

what does one make of the cloud

that dulls the sparkle, dims the luster,

chills the mind, weights the soul?

perhaps nothing. the softer, grayer light

may send a chill about the heart,

or it may lend quietude to the scene.

sun and the cloud have no motive, 

and if we are cheered or sobered 

by either, that it on us, having the gift 

and curse of sentience and mood.

~

but this is stilted and poetic,

the sun and cloud, our reactions

to them, are not static nor as pat

as fourteen lines would make it.

just as a cloud cuts the sun,

so may our fear may cut our joy,

or have no more effect than 

to cast a shadow across the path,

or waken a shiver and shudder.

this winter's day is sun and cloud,

glistening crystals and the absence

of glistening crystals, i note it,

and do as i do, formulate words

to capture it, or, approximate it.

~

it's tidy, wrapping experience

into bundles of fourteen lines.

it is also a way to get at other ideas,

things that come and go, or respond to

fear and joy, effect moods, touch desires—

cut through to the human experience, 

not to be approximated with words, 

but experienced by sensation—tactile, 

personal, real, not just fear and joy, 

but love and longing, fulfillment 

and the opposite of fulfillment. a walk 

on winter's day, with all its glistening

and clouded tones, touches the senses,

hints at less metaphorical sensations.

~

the sun and cloud are the backdrop,

the set, and we, as shakepeare pointed out—

we are the players on this winter's day.

it is quiet and i am alone seeing this,

thinking thoughts that lead nowhere,

admiring the scene, or becoming downcast

when the sun is foiled by a harmless

little cumulus cloud. my sympathy

is with the cloud, but my inner-resources

are stretched thin, the sun gives me

the illusion of happiness—i can see how

it would play out, i would disappoint. 

as sure as this cloud hides the sun

i would disappoint. feel it? my shade?