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 research, write and share 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.
Incredible poem, captivating photos!
Well done!
Hi Jeanne, such nice words. Thank you! The struggles in winter are real! Much love!
Great girl. Love your work.
Thank you for taking the time to look at the work, Martha, this is a bit different from the work I would normally do, but sometimes I want to challenge my creative boundaries. I am still a work in progress. 😀