Apricity. Image and Text

apricity

you are at the time of water,
you bite and sting me angrily

your presence foreshadows change and decay
you are the unwanted guest
tempting me outside

I fear your icy breath
as I step into the short day to meet you
you show me the bleak bleached sky
a pale grey opaque, reaching the far corners of my eye

you cast long shadows as we walk in search of frost flowers,
the passage of time, visible in every step
in your presence, the earth is moving slower,
so is birth, growth, life

you whisper and ask me to forget the sun,
show me lonely leafless trees
standing lifeless in the biting cold, isolated
yet,
something about you is pure, spotless, beautiful

an extended pause, a promise of new life
you are the time of water, winter,
my heart
is warming
up to you

NOTES:

Apricity: the warmth of the sun in winter

Photos created in the Grunewald forest, Berlin. It was magical; we explored and experienced the first snow of winter 2023. It was a frosty – 1°C. I used a vertical panning technique to create the images of the trees in the forest. No post processing.

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Photographs and text by

Lizane Louw

As a travel & culture journalist, Lizane researches, writes and shares original travel and culture-related stories. Lizane produces high-quality content for various platforms, including print, online, social media, and video platforms. Lizane enjoys writing feature articles, sharing experiential stories, and creating photo essays of all the offbeat, remote and interesting destinations she visits.