Haida Gwaii Winter

Snow drifts down lazily
In a pale blue-grey dusk
Spreading a soft, downy cloak
Over trees,
Over earth,
Over sea.
Puddles become glazed, slushy-soft.

The scars of man’s presence–
stark pavement,
old bottles,
forest slopes logged barren,
bits and scraps of this and that–
gently disappear under a feathery
pure, white quilt.
Thank you, great Creator,
for the beauty of this island world,
this Haida Gwaii,
the home you gave this people.
Thank you for the snow you send,
blanketing the stark ugliness
of man’s thoughtless tampering
with the perfection you created.
Thank you for reminding us
of the beauty you intended,
for inspiring us to care for this land
tenderly,
So our children can live from it, too.
Howaa for the snow.

Date: December mid-1990s!