As I once stood

As I once stood

Bleached white in the darkness

Fading into the colour

Of morning

The Northwind blowing

Imagining the snow

Where once we stood

Whipped into mounds

Powdered stone

Built into kingdoms

Following the movement

Of the wind

Invisible other than for its effect

Indefatigable in its battering

Shaping sand and snow

Bending bough

Weathering the farmer's cheeks

The steel girders

Carrying the weight

Of an architect's dream

Realised in the windswept lines

Of an old iron bridge

Suspended over time

Swaying to the music

Of the Northwind

As I once stood

With you

Softly breathing

Dancing in moonlight

Snowflakes melting

On an upturned face

The Northwind blowing

Through your hair

Bleached white

In early morning sunlight

Struggling to warm

The icy chill of winter

Soft snow forms

An unspoiled landscape

The wind blowing

A storm of snow dust

Across the tundra

Covering the tips of shoes

With a glistening rime

Tingling toes

As the blood flows warm

Beneath the skin

How do people survive

When they get frostbite

Where once we stood

Until the cold

Drove us back inside

To watch the morning

From behind

A floor to ceiling wall

Of double glazed intimacy

A witness to the inevitability

Of the Northwind’s

Precisely orchestrated

Engineering.