Snow

A sense of peace hides the truth.
Beneath this soothing white terrain
natural order disintegrates:
in the burning, white heart of matter
chaos reigns. Still — so still the illusion
is complete, real and unquestionable —
even wind steps across the drifts
as silently as motion will allow.

Arid light, the light a whisper,
barely audible, smooth and white
as it descends from some
unseen source so softly there is not
a ripple of anxiety in its voice.
Indecipherable, words disappear
in the serene, white thrum
until language is lost and meaning
becomes an invisible river flowing
beneath its steady, blinding chill.


Lee H. McCormack, Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate, studied poetry with: Galway Kinnell; Sharon Olds; Charles Simic; Robert Pinsky; Thomas Lux; Peter Klappert; Steve Orlen and George Mills, and was a Single Summer Resident at Warren Wilson MFA Program. He is a member of Cleaveland House Poets and  has recited poetry at Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society's live television broadcast, “A Gathering of Island Poets;” at Featherstone Center for the Arts; island libraries and other venues. At JawsFest 2012, Lee read his “At the Apex” poem - about saving sharks and oceans before an audience of over two-thousand.

About this column: This Sunday Afternoon Poem is provided by the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society (MVPS). With almost 200 members, MVPS is the island's largest poetry society. MVPS is responsible for nominating and selecting our island's Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate.