The Pond in Winter

With a weary expression, My soul is heavy-laden with need, A sack of troubles sent forth, To remind of endeavor, Not all in vain… Though hardness of the world may press, To feel the pond stiffen, Breathing out[red in blue, Rims and shapes of dark, To silence of all the portals gone— Yet the morning star shines forth, And breaks the chill and the frost upon the mouth, Like a calm that rocks and brings forth years— Of time concealed within…

—Henry David Thoreau

• Henry David Thoreau