Nourishment

Nourishment.

I was the frozen water

reduced from

stalactites of ice

that were draped in

splendid sculptures

over humble gutters

a glistening gallery

of crystal grandeliers

melted by solar rays

and thawing into

absolutely nothing

except slow and

then rapid drips

Alas I did not know

as I dissipated,

that my essence

was of any value

and yet I fed

eighteen flowers

and a huge patch of grass.

I was a relief effort

In the yearly battles

between winter and spring

One cold hearted, ancient

nemesis refusing to give

up the the land he had

laid waste to the returning

Goddess of spring.

My dissolving icicles

quenched some parched

worms thirst,

and caused an acorn

to germinate,

which will someday

be a mighty oak.

Some of me

flowed from the

many places

I had been hung during

Winters wrath and

added needed sustenance

to the wells

that families nearby

drink from.

Filtered and purified

through the layers of earth

to join all of the years

of former melts

lying far below.

Many of my ounces

evaporated and seeded

even more water in the

clouds above to become

seasonal rains.

Some of formed more

clouds whose many shapes

sparked imaginations and

brought poets inspiration

Some became more snow

In distant places

protecting the roots

of valued fruit trees.

760 dandelions will

launch white puffs

later this spring

Simply because I

became liquid

nourishment

Plus eighteen winter

birds sipped from puddles

of my cool refreshment,

before my last drops

vanished into mother earth.

I am the ice that truly

became something.

far more than just

frozen molecules.

I am an enduring example

hanging in full view of all

as a reminder each year

all of life serves a purpose

and is useful to all other

forms of life. Little is wasted

and so much comes from

what is given from every

little thing that occurs.

"Every little thing we do or say,

can affect the world even

if we think it means nothing."

Even from the coldest, cruelest

and bitterest actions can come

reactions of change and new

hope from the impacts that

have occurred. Acts of war

eventually become periods

of peace. Folks grow old as

thier life slowly dribbles to

a close, but new life is born

to replace those who were lost.

Cruel words are spoken but

apologies and forgiveness

bring eventual healing. All of

life is an endless revolution

of changes from what is lost

to what is gained. There is

a lot of comfort in just knowing

this. Perhaps we are like the

icicles, hanging around

towards the end of our

existence, till our souls are

reclaimed by our maker

and all that remains of our

physical presence becomes

Memories that are treasured

of course by how much we

nourished all those around

us, family and friends and

even those we came in contact

with. We need to be like the

Icicles spread their forms

of liquid love to everyone

around us daily.