{"id":3602,"date":"2015-03-09T16:25:49","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T23:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?p=3602"},"modified":"2018-03-09T07:11:31","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T14:11:31","slug":"winters-dramatic-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2015\/03\/winters-dramatic-conversion\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter&#8217;s Dramatic Conversion"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>\u201cReally,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019m not one for sunflower and birdsong.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just too precious, too easy.<\/p>\n<p>Gray skies are poetry. Frozen\u00a0earth is pure scripture.<\/p>\n<p>A good blizzard is benediction, with all that black crystal\u00a0slicing the air\u2026<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a living color portrait of the soul.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s all ice and razors in there, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Winter shuddered in his thin coat, and drifted off<\/p>\n<p>his lonely way. The shadow of himself hovered above the ground,<\/p>\n<p>hesitated,<\/p>\n<p>and followed after.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The warm wind sat still, watching.<\/p>\n<p>Her name was Spring, and<\/p>\n<p>she was taken with the whole picture of him\u2014<\/p>\n<p>that young face with ancient eyes,<\/p>\n<p>that swagger of morbid\u00a0certainty,<\/p>\n<p>the upturned collar of a tortured poet\u2026<\/p>\n<p>He was not her type.<\/p>\n<p>So of course moved faster than the shifting sun.<\/p>\n<p>Of course she wrapped herself around him<\/p>\n<p>risking those first purple and white blooms<\/p>\n<p>to his frost-bitten touch.<\/p>\n<p>And of course her mother was horrified. (Really, isn\u2019t that the best part?)<\/p>\n<p>But this is what they do, the artists of air and light.<\/p>\n<p>They can\u2019t keep their hands off each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He might have frozen her in her tracks; he might have sapped the color from<\/p>\n<p>the air that she breathed, the wind that carried her, and<\/p>\n<p>turned to sleet what she meant for rain.<\/p>\n<p>But as it happened, she was more than he saw coming.<\/p>\n<p>As it happened, even he was tired of the cold.<\/p>\n<p>Even he had grown weary of drizzle<\/p>\n<p>and bitter winds<\/p>\n<p>and dry, aching knuckles\u2014poetic and true as that suffering might be.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So who knows if she stormed and raged and blew him over,<\/p>\n<p>or if she baptized him on the spot.<\/p>\n<p>Either way, in the end,<\/p>\n<p>he agreed to lay down and die for awhile.<\/p>\n<p>As those in love so often do.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Thanks for entertaining my horrible Victorian cliches of personified seasons.\u00a0 This is March on the prairie though: shoveling sidewalks like mad one day, and then everything is sunshine and happiness. Until it snows again.\u00a0So bring on the cliches. The dance of winter and spring is as fraught with sexual tension as any forbidden love\u2013a story as old as the hills<\/em><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I, for one, am hoping that Spring blows him over, sooner than later\u2026 Let all be sandals and sangria and baseball season! At least until the tornadoes land.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5432\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/333\/2015\/03\/silhouette-3047796_640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\"><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cReally,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019m not one for sunflower and birdsong. It\u2019s just too precious, too easy. Gray skies are poetry. Frozen\u00a0earth is pure scripture. A good blizzard is benediction, with all that black crystal\u00a0slicing the air\u2026 That\u2019s a living color portrait of the soul. It\u2019s all ice and razors in there, you know.\u201d Then Winter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1154,"featured_media":5432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[82,102,10,1025,1024],"class_list":["post-3602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lent-and-easter","tag-lent","tag-seasons","tag-spirituality","tag-spring","tag-winter"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Winter&#039;s Dramatic Conversion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cReally,\u201d he said, \u201cI&#039;m not one for sunflower and birdsong. It&#039;s just too precious, too easy. 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