Snow with Moose
Guide to the incremental, to the sifted mass. The Phoenician mem shifted
shapes, but always suggested water.
Moose likely derives from the Algonquian descriptor “he strips away.”
The Japanese character for water, mizu, evokes currents.
Moose are solitary creatures and do not form herds. A bilabial consonant,
M is a primary sound throughout the world.
The prehensile upper lip undresses branches and grabs shoots.
Wavering, I share the lack of definition, of clarity in design and choice.
The sound is prevalent in the words for mother in many unrelated tongues,
from Hindi to Mandarin, Hawaiian to Quechua, and of course English.
Eleven strokes compose the Japanese character for snow.
A smile would reveal no upper front teeth.
Long legs enable adults to manage snow up to three feet deep. Under water,
individual flakes striking the surface sound similar, despite size disparities.
It can also accurately be classified as a mineral.
Solitude to connection, dark on white. The lone traveler.
“Snow with Moose” first appeared here in December 2015.
O at the Edges 