The snow drops from the sky,
And the earth receives the gift.

I wonder:
Is the gift given by one and received by another?

Who is the giver?
Who is the receiver?

Who is the one that lets go of the gift?
Who is the one that holds onto the gift?

Is the gift separate from the one who holds it?
Or:
Is the gift separate from the one who is held by it?

Unlike rain, snow makes little noise as it drops.
The gift is silent, wrapping up in silence whoever uncovers it.
Yet:
Was the gift ever covered?

The birds chirp the silence into song,
The stream carries the silence into movement,
And the trees are held motionless by the silence,
As from the sky continues to fall
The gift
Which transforms everything that receives it.

Nothing is the same when the gift is being given,
Yet nothing changes after the gift has been received.
When is the gift not being given?
When has the gift not been received?

The snow drops from the sky
And the earth receives the gift.