there's music out there
can you hear it?
Have you heard the snow?
Drank its waters from the ice hole four feet deep?
There’s clarity to this element, gentleness in feather-falling flakes that drift effortlessly.
I anticipate the taste of each individual snowflake, as my tongue twists upwards to catch each one. The crunch of hardened snow beneath gives way in unpredictable moments unseen to the eye.
This is my walk to work, up snow banks and down snow drifts. Each step a boot imprint to show I was here.
Rabbit and fox tracks litter and skitter left and right. A dog whines and howls in the near distance. The stars sparkle brighter than the new satellite orbiting this tiny speck of a place.
Air huddles on my eyelashes, coating them with the finest frost. I blink rapidly so they don’t stick together; giggle at how I must look.
Upon inhaling, I can feel the pure air pierce my lungs with such a sharpness that I crave more and less instantaneously. It seeps into my bloodstream and invigorates my being. My organs work harder to heat up my body. My hands clench and release in sealskin mitts. I wiggle my toes in clunky boots. I move like the wind that scatters the snow. We are both trying to avoid freezing in stillness.
A raven donned in pitch black caws my arrival.
A symphony plays below my feet. With each step I think about how there are endless sounds to endless snowflakes. And I am grateful for this music.
About the Creator
Oneg In The Arctic
A queer storyteller and poet of arctic adventures, good food, identity, mental health, and more.
Co-founder of Queer Vocal Voices
Water is Life ✊
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By Oneg In The Arctic2 years ago in Fiction
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Comments (25)
Lovely orchestration of a beautiful imagery abundant piece!
Loved reading this Oneg. You describe the scenery so well in this, and create some vivid imagery! “ I can feel the pure air pierce my lungs with such a sharpness that I crave more and less instantaneously.” is a brilliant line to show how the speaker is feeling in the snow. The raven line is a lovely contrast in both colour and tone as well. Nicely done 👏
Congrats on your place as Runner-Up! This is a very good piece with incredibly unique language to describe the mundane: "My organs work harder to heat up my body. My hands clench and release in sealskin mitts." You placed me right there and sent a shiver of sympathy down my spine. Great work!
I really enjoyed reading this. your take on the sounds of winter(snow) is beautiful
Wow. Very poetic! Congratulations!
Lovely evocation of the snow. I was there with you, absorbing the sounds and the sights.
Oh I love this snapshot of pure mindfulness and presence, one you're immediately nostalgic for. Stunning imagery. And using descriptors like "gentleness in feather-falling flakes" is just harmonious. Excellent story, and congratulations on placing!!
So beautifully descriptive. Congratulations!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your challenge win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Congrats, Oneg! Excellent Micro! I guess it pays to live in the artic, literally. 🥇💖
Congratulations Oneg on placing in the Snow Micro challenge!!! Best wishes always!
Awesome! Congratulations on the runner up win!!!♥️♥️💕
Absolutely gorgeous my friend you deserve your win and placement!! Congratulations 🎊🎉🎈🍾
Congrats, my friend.
You have such a talent for description, for evoking a sense of completely being in a single moment. I really love your writing.
Excellent Oneg!!!
Love the imagery in this story, it’s almost like poetry 🥰
This is such a beautiful and vivid description! Great work!
Absolutely beautiful imagery you brought about here Oneg. It is such an enchanting read.
Stunning imagery and reall sense of sound and movement, just stunning Oneg -What a magical walk to work! 🤍
So am I, Oneg. So am I. When I was a kid, I loved breathing in the cold air so much that mom finally gave up on trying to make me quit sticking my nose right over the freezer chests in the supermarket to breathe it in.
This is very poetic with beautiful imagery. Nicely done.
I usually encounter black ice, dog waste (I hope it came from a dog) and too much salt. ;)
Beautiful!
Beautifully descriptive and great entry for the challenge.