This Morning the Ice was Singing - a photo on Flickriver

            Photographing Ice 
In memory of Mary Oliver, 1935-2019
By Cliff Briggie 

This morning the ice on the lake is singing. 
For decades I have heard its plates rubbing, pushing, and
Breaking—creating otherworldly   
Creaks, cracks, moans, silence—  
But never singing  
I lick honey from the razor blade of expectation

Now—I hear it—now—singing—now—
Singing that astonishes and humbles
Singing that is mournful, hopeful, sublime
Singing that is intense, insistent—animating this hardened heart.
It seems endless but both the song and I will end, never to be duplicated.    
I lick ecstasy from the razor blade of attachment.

Ice is a master of transitions and layers—freezing, melting, refreezing, 
Even—surprised by a mild morning—wrapping itself in its own fog
We, too, seek transformation but want to remain unscathed.   
Ice is fearless—Simply what it is—No regrets. 
No concept of change, self-conscious, or word for failure. 
I lick the present moment from the razor blade of illusion

Day after day I go to the same places—but they are never the same places.
Ice, light, and water move and morph—they collide, merge and separate—
A dance at once breathtaking, heartbreaking, and transcendent 
Then—click—the photograph freezes a moment
Too brief to see—impossible to repeat 
I lick gratitude from the razor blade of life and death.

I open heart and mind to their natural wakefulness—
Vivid, raw, intimate, inconceivably vast and spacious, 
Empty but aware   
This morning the ice is singing.
Every morning the ice is singing. 
There is nothing to lick and no one to lick it.


   

Taken on: October 23, 2014

Groups appears in: • Magic Moments • Ice is nice! more » • Ultimate Ice « less

Camera: Nikon D810, f/6.3, 1/60 sec, 155mm, ISO 64 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D810
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	155mm
ISO:	64
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Portrait
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	ViewNX-i 1.2 W
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