Snow and manure

fresh fallen snow

a blanket of

pristine white

covering the 

debris

of days

and seasons

and storms gone by

underneath the beauty

the smooth white

lie 

branches and pincones

dirty ice

and yes

manure

the snow does not 

alas

change the manure

and at some point

we all

have to deal with the manure

that is the bad news

the good news is

that as we do

as we let the sacred
"till our soul"
 

we create the

fertilizer

for new growth

spring

(these thoughts occasioned by a saying often attributed to Luther that man is like a pile of dung covered with snow.  Sweep away the snow and the smelly dung is all to evident.  But the good news of the Gospel is that the change God can bring is NOT skin deep)