Poem: Snow in the Quarry

Snow in the Quarry

The quarry is covered in snow
that softens the rough edges
of the hard, gray slate,

and the sun, February bright,
carves new shadows,
short and dark at mid-day.

Little lives here, save a few
hardscrapple trees, their roots
burrowing in stony nooks.

It is silent. Not even wind comes here,
just you in the winter sun,
to see the shadows

and the slow, slow progression of the day,
for the quarry is long abandoned.
The strong arms and bustle

that made this place, and the deep scars
of those generations of miners
are left to you

and the snow,
both softening the stone
in your own way.

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The picture was taken recently at a quarry in West Pawlet, Vermont. You can click on the picture for a larger version.

Tom