Falling Beauty

And we, who think of ascending
joy, would feel the emotion
that almost dismays us,
when a joyful thing falls.
—Duino Elegies, Rainer Maria Rilke

Your love falls around me like the first snowfall
Sprinkling everything with whispers of frost
For others, love lifts them aloft
Snow melting on their warm bodies
Their hearts hasten and swell

We are Montrealers:
Our country is the winter
Snowflakes decorate our eyelids
The first snow sparkles on our skin

First snow, like first love, falls
Blanketing everything with forgiveness
And a cleansing frost

Peace descends.
Beauty falls.
Love remains

by Carlo Corvi - Charles Corbeaux
Orvieto, Umbria, Italia, 16 November 2008