Feel how light they are, our lives.
—Liesel Mueller, from “Snow”

Snowflake light, crystal feathers falling weightless
from a cloud, but once earthed with their brethren,

these lives accumulate such weight as to sag roofs,
down power lines, snap tree limbs.

Wet snow can contain twice as much water as
dry, which cannot be clumped into snowballs

or snowmen. The moments of our earthly
existences are like that—light traveling,

slowing and bending as it passes through
transparent flakes, bouncing into sparkles,

sometimes into rainbows. Light bending
is refraction; light bouncing is reflection.

And we, in these earthly guises, both
bend and bounce, collectively heavy,

but individually we fly, crystal clear—
especially at the end, lifting out of our

cumbersome bodies, nothing but light,
a whisper of air.

•••

You can learn more about Nathan Myhrvold’s ultra-high resolution photos of snowflakes here.