Frozen Humidity….Heartfelt Humility

Winter Woes

Winter arrived.

I thought the precautions were made…

Water drips from the faucets inside.

Outside hoses, unplugged, and dried.

Tarps hung to keep the animals alive.

No matter how prepared we think we are,

winter strikes a blow.

The bitter chill from the north sounds an alarm,

goosebumps send shivers down spines.

The ice wall reverberates reminders

as the earth hardens her liner.

The lighthouse of inner warmth

fades into the background.

The voice of howling wind

blares like a foghorn…

the days went…

the night is early…

the sun slept…

the cold moon found glory.

Winter arrived, again.

Frostbit worries thaw by the fire.

Embers reach for frosty fingers,

and feathers via saddened hearts

that can’t melt, the pain lingers.

Icy tears are frozen into art.

Life lessons, solidified in icicles,

repentance in sweet whispers.

Consequences of choices…

in preparation for winter…

Not enough to stop the bite.

Frigidness of humidity

cuts like a knife.

Frozen nights make dares

under that pale moonlight.

Precious life waits for dawn.

For the rays of sun to thaw.

An almost extinguished ember

held on without clamber.

Not a beat missed.

Not a moment lost.

No sign of discomfort.

Courage in a coop…

A Roo forever triumphant.

____________________________

I tried to prepare, insulate, do everything I knew to do and still my rooster woke up with frostbite today. It broke my heart. I’m so sorry little buddy… please forgive me.

No matter how hard we “try” to do all the right things in life, sometimes we fail and others may also have to endure the consequences of our choices… even if we attempted to cover all the bases, dot all the i’s, cross all the t’s. This is why forgiveness is important because we all need to give it or ask for it at times.

Caring for another doesn’t exempt us from the fallibility of our humanness, which includes vast imperfections.

I love my animals, I would never do anything to hurt them, and I try to do everything I can to ensure their safety, health and joy. Yet, today, all that I can do is look forward and bring with me the lessons learned from my mistake.

Could I have done more? Should I have done more? What should I have done differently?

We all fail… we fail ourselves…we fail each other…we fail those we love most.

In those moments, all that is left is humility, apology, and love.

The passage above could be about many things that come with the chill of winter….the seeds we didn’t plant, the attempts we didn’t make, the harvest we didn’t reap, the love we didn’t give, the life we didn’t appreciate. The stillness of the sun setting so early in the day asks us to look at the things in life that have been left in the dark….the things frozen in time that need to be faced.

It serves us not to dwell in that place, but to see the harshness of a frozen ground for what it is, for the purpose it serves. It’s not a time to dig down but a time to rest in the darkness and find the fire in our own hearts, the weariness in what is avoided, the worn out parts that call for attention, the subconscious calls that are ignored.

And in this season, we still must rise and shine a light on the chilling aspects of our world, our being…let the vapor of our breath reveal what needs to be thawed out and dissolved….let the cold kill what needs to die and find the courage to do what wasn’t done come the rise of spring….the winter calls for second chances through thorough preparation, a harvest of lessons that need not be learned again, a chance to hold close, and tight, what matters most and be sort of walking warmth, unphased by the bitterness of the frigid morn and the wet chill of a cold winter moon.

May the sharing of our life lessons, of this one, be a reminder to find compassion… oh it’s harder some days than others to find…some days it hides in the darkest corners buried beneath rocks that haven’t been moved for decades, stuck to earth as if planted…inside closets without bulbs…behind cabinets collecting dust… sometimes, compassion for ourselves the hardest to find of all.

Our animal companions have much to teach us, always stop and listen…even on the hard days and trying seasons…even when we fail them…even when love isn’t enough.

For Roosseau, a true gem, I hear your crow…prayers for speedy healing my friend. May tonight be warmer for you and the new remedies be of greater comfort for you and your girls. I’ll meet you another dawn and listen for your call. Outer appearances may change, like the scars I, too, have suffered, yet our connection and understanding grows beyond the material.

I’ve become quite fond of roosters, they, like the Vulture, are often misunderstood. courageous protectors that will fight to the death protecting their hens…if only humanity was even a smidge as brave.

Angela