Here there are waters beyond waters
Mountains beyond mountains
Time extends and extends.

The snow clothes everything with the whiteness
of childhood, and radiance --
Some magic I left in the snowfields of New Jersey,
Some otherworldly glistening.
Back then it was entry into a fairytale,
Entry into a vast possibility.

There was the summer grandeur of turtles, toads and violets
Covered over by an all-encompassing softening
The woods a castle with chandeliers of ice
Where the creek ran -- the brightness
Against the trail of dark water
Pristine and irresistible

A brilliant blanket cleansing the trees,
The fields, and our trespasses,
Like the white lace of our first communion veils --

An unspoken hope
A stepping away --
Where Gram's harsh voice
Could never penetrate.

Today, surrounded by rocks and poets
Two magpies fly-float across the canyon
Bridging the mountains
Bridging those long ago days
With this crisp blue.

~Anne Bach