Passing of winter's light

This story was given dramatic presentation by Vermont Stage Company in December 2005

By Moya Cavanagh
Browns River Middle School, Grade 6

The sun rises on a snowy Vermont morning,
It casts a pink glow on steam, rising from thousands of dairy cows all over Vermont.
Children speed through it as they go sledding down hillsides.
The snow is thrown high into the air, smiled upon by orange light,
A frozen rain drop caught in the sun as a pair of snow shoers navigates their way through a forest.
A blinding flash of metal is followed by a twisting line as families enjoy backyard skating rinks.
This is the time when Vermont comes alive with the sounds and joys of winter.
The sounds are muffled, hushed or quieted by the snow, but the fun doesn’t stop ‘till spring.
The light went through Vermont and its people like giant ripples, calling them out to play.
But the whole day I’ve waited to play.
I’ve waited for the best light of all.
The stars.
I glide noiselessly leaving barley audible V’s in the snow behind me.
The moon peeks out from behind clouds like gray paint brushed across a sapphire sky.
The stars glow with an icy light, as if a million snow flakes blown of someone’s hand,
Then caught in the last rays of the evening sun, they are shining stars forever more.
This is what this moment was made for,
Skis and stars, and fields cradled in arms made from surrounding mountains.
This is Vermont, this is home.