Ash Wednesday

white falls like ash
to cloak the ground
sinister
when pictured as ice and slush
but really just another
billion kisses from heaven
a whisper
a reminder
that God draws near
and Jesus comes
to fall like ash
and heal a cold hard world

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snow
billions of flakes caress the ground
unique as individual humans
clusters of rain too cold to fall
so they drift
occasionally whisking sideways
or briefly spiraling upwards
to defy gravity
purely for the joy of it

and a girl deemed too old 
for awe and magic
familiar with trudging through cold
stares out the window
enthralled