The Last Waltz of the Melting Snowflakes
A poem
A poem
They twirl through the air,
delicate dancers defying gravity’s embrace,
if only for a fleeting moment.
Intricate patterns etched upon their crystalline bodies,
each flake a masterwork of nature’s artistry.
Yet, as they alight upon the warming earth,
their splendor is ephemeral,
melting into mere drops that sink into the thirsty soil.
A tragic act unfolds with every flake’s descent,
a premature finale to a performance
that once heralded winter’s arrival.
Where pristine blankets of white
once adorned the slumbering landscapes,
now bare patches of brown and green emerge,
premature harbingers of Spring’s impending dominance.
The once-mighty drifts cower, retreating
from the unrelenting march of rising temperatures.
The snowflakes pirouette
through the ever-shrinking corridors of cold air,
their numbers dwindling with each passing season.
A melancholic requiem echoes in the empty space
where their frozen brethren once reigned supreme.
In their final waltz, they bear witness
to a world in flux, a delicate equilibrium upended
by the insatiable appetites of progress.
Swirling amidst the chimney plumes and exhaust fumes,
dancers choking on the by-products of human ambition.
Their steps falter, patterns distorted
by the shifting atmospheric currents,
as they struggle to find purchase on surfaces
ill-suited for their cold embrace.
A bittersweet farewell plays out with every droplet
that splashes upon the warming ground.
Yet, even in their inevitable dissolution,
their fading leaves behind a legacy
etched in the collective memory of all those
who have witnessed their ethereal beauty.
A reminder that the natural world’s wonders are fleeting,
to be cherished and protected
before they, too, melt into the annals of history.
As the last flakes take their final bows,
a hush falls over the landscape,
a silence punctuated only
by the mournful drip of their melting forms.
A standing ovation for the disappearing act
of winter’s frozen emissaries,
their farewell performance a siren call to action
against the forces that threaten
to silence their icy opus forever.
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