Winter's Bitter Edge
The walking man studies the footprints he’s made in the
freshly-fallen snow, footprints meandering back through
time, back through time with his thoughts. There he finds
a boy playing by a stream, happy as a boy can be. He
walks over and says, “Hello.” The boy doesn’t hear. He
wants to say “remember this” but all he can do is watch
for a while as the child works his way along the bank and
finally out of sight.
His thoughts lead back to a grassy field where a young
man tosses hay bales onto a wagon. The man in the snow
wants to shout “be careful” but again can only watch as
the farm cart passes by. He knows the young man has no
reason to listen to the wind. Turning up his collar, he
shrugs away the cold.
