snow seas swan

Snow globules hanging from the trees, like silvery pollen or the larvae of worms. Rice fields smothered by six months of snow, their feeder canals obliterated, the shallow stream a black slit in the hollow. Houses dwarfed by their new snow skins, train stations drowning beneath the sky`s white tears. More snow than I have ever seen in my life. Seas coloured metallic grey and gun barrel blue, heaving and sludge. Water befuddled by the frozen wastes that feed it, concrete storm buttresses the colour of the disappeared sands. Tiny harbours and breakwaters holding several frozen boats. Views across gigantic bays and technical seas, towards mountains of snow coloured like oceans, rising. Swan so white its feathers are like blasted snow, bobbing in the swell near the storm water outlet. Birds so elegant in the water they are the animal kingdom`s icebergs. Treacherous on land, rearing up to strike the feeding hands. A diorama of peace, just there in the freezing water, a family of swans surrounded by snow birds, seagulls, air. [tokyo-sapporo by train, 4/1/06]