Snowfall

Plunging in an icy fleet
From the gray sky's sanctuary
The snowflakes ride the gusts they meet,
Weightless for the wind to carry.

Spiraling through endless space
Alive in the infinite sky,
Then blanketing the earth's bare face
To meet oblivion... here they die...

Just to feel the earth's brief breath,
Each mortal drop of ice
Goes plunging downward to its death --
Vision is worth this sacrifice.

Hurtling earthward from the sky
With life to gain and life to give --
You may say we live to die
But I myself would die to live.