Publication Date
5-2009
Type of Culminating Activity
Thesis
Degree Title
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Non-Fiction
Department
English
Major Advisor
Bruce Ballenger
Abstract
1. April
1986: Wind melds sky turns to rain turns to snow turns to white closes in.
A South Dakota blizzard is a shape-shifter, undulating, hiding, revealing little of what lies beneath. In its aftermath, fallen snow is delicate, ephemeral. It quells noise, erases the line between earth and sky. It envelops sound: footsteps, passing vehicle, a runaway dog, cannot shatter this silence. The tired scraping of a metal shovel against idewalk is the only thing penetrating the quiet, quiet hush, as I wade through snow in my Sorels, clearing the walk. Breathing in, I feel my nostrils sting. I see shimmering, sub-zero air spinning around the sun. I take it all in: the glitter falling from frozen sky, one infinite wave of white’s ascension into heaven. In this moment, I know what it means to be alive.
Today is April 16, the day after Easter.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Ann Braley, "The Sweet Air" (2009). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 13.
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/13