the snow is still fresh and untouched. with each step into it follows a gentle cracking, a shallow collapse; a sheet of ice was hiding underneath. i pick up the shard that i had created, it numbs my fingertips. i toss it against the wall, it shatters into brilliant jagged pieces. they fall gently into the snow, pillowed. i stomp around for a while longer, much like a kid elated at splashing in puddles, before finding my way to this frozen, bare tree.