It was a perfect snowflake...

It was a perfect snowflake...

Just a normal morning –
Highway traffic, radio commercials
On my way to work.
A dusting of snow
Edged the road
As a foot cream commercial gave way
To A Holly Jolly Christmas.

Not a cloud around,
On a bright and sunny day.
When there fell a snowflake
And it landed on the windshield.

I moved to turn the wipers on,
Even though it was only one –

When something stopped me...
It was a perfect snowflake.

It looked just like a star,
Its crystals reaching outward.
Perfect shape and size
As I sat there captivated.

Others joined this symbol of perfection
But each had melted fast.
This one stayed.
Refused to leave
As if I had to see
The struggle that it went through
To become this perfect snowflake.

But then it came
The beautiful blanket
Of snowflakes
Falling fast.

Surrounded now
I looked around
And saw the forest for the trees.

A snowflake
While perfect
Will never be here long –
But those whose vision
Allows them to see
The beauty in their flawless shape
Will never forget
The way it felt
To be a part of fate.


Author’s Note:
This poem is written and dedicated to a special friend and mentor, Carolina Blue ... I did not know him but a few years, but that didn’t stop him from teaching me many valuable lessons. He taught me how to have faith – both in myself and something greater. He taught me the value in caring about politics – having an opinion and sharing it. He taught me how it feels to write a poem without restriction instead of conforming to highly-structured forms.

I could go on and on, but what it comes down to is this: The world may go on with one less snowflake to fall, but to those who were touched by the beauty and soul of that one snowflake that left us, we know we were special in having been there to see it, no matter how briefly it was here. 

Rest in peace, Ken.