Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 2009Sometime during the late winter, my sister and I decided to get together for a vacation, mostly because we hadn't seen each other very much in the past year and were missing each other. After mulling over where to go and what to do, we settled upon Santa Fe, New Mexico. Neither one of us had been there before but we'd heard such lovely things about its people, its art community and its proximity to several Native American pueblos that the decision was made without hesitation.
And, yet, our first encounter with Santa Fe made us giggle out loud with shock and disbelief. We were greeted with snow, more specifically the beginnings of a snowstorm that I was lucky enough to dodge in Denver! Here we were in desert, trying to escape cold winters in Chicago and DC, and it was snowing!
As we made our way towards our downtown lodgings, I was mesmerized by how the early and delicate spring blossoms merged with the lazy snowflakes and became indistinguishable. It was another reminder for me that all is connected...that everything is ONE. Even more of a shock was the four+ inches of fresh snow, gusting winds and a chilly 17 degrees which rapped upon our windowpane the next morning.
Here is the first poem which found me during my stay:
seated near the hearth, she looked out the window
and watched the clouds release shaped crystal,
shivering as the cold worked its way into the crevices of her bones.
the wind howled and blew delicate blossoms into snow,
into whorls and whirls --
pushing them towards a powdery rest.
she, too, hurtled herself out into the elements,
reveling as their severity enveloped her,
stripping her of all that was not hers...
forcing her to breathe again.
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