Dead of winter

Recently I have been feeling the need for nature, for verdant life and the tranquility of trees. I miss the leave-dappled sunlight falling on me as I take a leisurely hike in the mountains.

I don't know if it's my work, my personal life, or the failing health of those around me, but I felt a very desperate need to escape to the countryside that has yet to be fulfilled.

In lieu, I bought some green beans from the market and boiled them, without even stripping away the stems. I have been biting into their green juices and feeling the sweet crunch of life.

It is a pale substitute for time spent connecting with the earth, but it will have to suffice for now. My heart has been heavy, my thoughts weary and belabored for a while. I need some form of release, a weekend by the water or the foothills.

In this dead of winter, I am trying to taste the vitality that the earth provides and sing an ode to friends here and gone. Instead I bury myself in sleep.