SNOW BLIND

BY DUSTIN SMITH

The NEAR and FAR cards were printed by Cumbersome Multiples Press on a 1928 Chandler & Price letterpress using antique wooden type. PonyXpress writers wrote a response to the word on the cover. The cards were passed to the next writers and they used the prompt to write on the back.

Snow is a contradiction;
A juxtaposition between
Beauty and ugliness/
Life and death/
The liberation of silence
And the bondage of noise.

It’s the absolute stillness of the world.
The quiet hush of the infinitesimal
Flakes softly touching down.
Each a unique crystalline lattice
Lasting only for a moment;
Nature’s perfect mandala
Blanketing the world.

It’s the warmth of blood
Rushing to rosy red cheeks
In the frigid air;
Reminding us of the life vigorously
Thrumming through our bodies.

It’s the beauty of the light
From a distant star, refracting
In multitudes and
Blinding in its brilliance.

It’s also the oppressive
Black and grey storm
Of the channel unattended.
The desolation of the late-night hour.
The pixelated blizzard
That signifies nothing.

It’s the scream of static,
Constant and piercing.
The weight of isolation,
Smothering in its heft.
The vast noise of disconnection
Blinding us to each other. | DS