Glacier Lakes

I had been climbing for hours and there was still a lot of mountain in front of me. I had been promised a great view from the summit, but I seriously doubted I would get there. I raised my hand to shade my eyes, tipped my head back, and looked up. Way up.

I ran through the entire motion, backwards, and looked down at where I'd been. I looked at my watch and did a little mental math. I couldn't fool myself into believing that I could significantly pick up my pace; the climbing was getting harder, not easier. And even if I pretended that I could come down the mountain at four times the speed I'd gone up, I was not going to make it. Not before midnight; and, even though the trail was excellent, and well-marked for beginners like me, I was not keen to be going down the mountain in any sort of dark, let alone pitch dark.

I looked around; it was too early to give up and head back now; but going forward just to fill the time seemed pointless. Aha. A trail marked in blue branched off the the right; that would do.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Earrings; sterling silver, lampwork by Gail Kops of Beadles. Hand fabricated.

Eclipse

I'd gotten to the point where the reflections in the water seemed more real to me than what was being reflected. It was, after all, just a simple paradigm shift; a trick of perception; a game I played and, depending on how you considered the outcome, lost or won.

Such a strange mirror; the water deepened the color of the sky, and, where it slid over boulders it obscured things with frothy bubbles that shimmered and made the world look even more abstract than usual. I realized suddenly that I preferred the reflection to reality; its fluid dance swiftly eclipsed the staid, solid world and replaced darkness with its own light.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, amazonite, lampwork by Melissa Vess of Inner Realm Creations. Hand fabricated.

River Run

The river was central to our lives; as she ran, so did we. In the summer she ran slowly; our children played in her shallows, and we were careful to use no more of her water than necessary. We planted our crops in the rich soil that the river relinquished to us; as summer slowly cooled into fall, we harvested and stored food for the colder months ahead.

The winter rains sent the water tumbling and rushing over her banks; we kept our children close and told them terrifying stories of her powers so that they would stay by our sides and shun the fascination of the raging current. We were not always successful; our stories had the bitter taste of truth to season them.

But every year, Spring would bring a gentleness to the river, and we worked beside her with respect, leaving the fear behind.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

This bracelet is made from sterling silver and ocean jasper. Hand fabricated. 8 inches long, fits 6-7 inch wrists.

Soul of the earth

How deep must I dig before I find something? I couldn't let that thought stay; I had to keep scratching up the earth beneath me, my mind empty and my hands full. I will break up and move this ground, inch by inch if need be, until I find it.

That's the kind of person I am. I don't give up easily, I'm not afraid of working hard or being bored. Honestly, sometimes, I just don't know how to leave well enough alone. It isn't my imagination (or at least I hope it isn't my imagination, I'm tired enough to hallucinate, honestly I am); there is a flash of light and color there, or there was, until something moved; I don't see it right now, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there, does it?

I will keep digging until I see it again.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Bracelet; sterling silver, faceted jelly opal, lampwork by Gail Kops of Beadles. Hand fabricated.

The crest of the wave

Long ago, and far away, in another time and place altogether, the coral grew in dense forests on the ocean floor. Oysters opened their shells, offering up their best pearls, and anemones pursed their lacy mouths into pretty pouts as we floated over them; cradled in the soft embrace of the water, we rose and fell with the tide.

It took no effort at all to float; it would have been hard to sink in those rich, mineral-laden seas. The salt crusted into glittering diamonds on our brows and lashes as we rolled like seals over the crests of the waves, and dissolved into long streams that bent the light into a spectrum of colors when we dove to escape the waves that broke over our heads.

And then we grew up; we grew up far too soon.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

This bracelet cuff is made from copper, seed beads, and freshwater pearls. Forged and hand fabricated, free-form peyote stitch.