So Quietly the Snow Came Down

So quietly last night, the snow came down—
Now the entire world seems suddenly changed.
Where yesterday there was promise of spring,
Today there is only winter again.
 
Thoughts of David come into my mind,
How he waited in small room above the gate for news.
He saw a messenger approaching, crawling across a field,
Like a beetle or an ant— what weight did he bear upon his back?
 
Here the King of Music begins to shake with fear,
Within a quiet instant, his world was suddenly changed.
There upon stone floor, he knelt as he thought of Saul.
He reached inside his pocket for small stone that killed the giant.
 
He thought of poor Uriah, and felt no joy at that.
And now the news, the horrible news that his son, Absalom was dead.
At the Battle of Ephraim Wood he died, his magnificent mane of hair
Caught by a branch of an oak tree.  O Absalom, my son, my son….
 
There in the Wood, he searched alone for that fatal tree,
White tears covering the ground— the salt of enormous grief.
He covered his face, unable to sing his psalms of praise,
For his beautiful son was gone.  O Absalom!  O Absalom!
 
So quietly last night, the snow came down.
Where yesterday there was promise, now it is winter again.
It only takes an instant before the weight descends,
Cursing the world under a blanket of white.  O Absalom!  O Absalom!

About these ads