Exhale

"Exhale" 
Acrylic and metallic nickel / gold / copper on canvas
30x 40”

Nothing lasts forever, not the good nor the bad.
Winter in Seattle, without fail, with her short days that are often bone-chillingly cold and gray, buries me head first, tail tucked, deep into a foxhole.
.
Down here, I hold my breath. I am frozen and numb. But atleast down in the dark, I can’t feel how cold it is above the ground.
.
I can’t feel... anything.
.
The numbness thaws at pace with the season, and I start to feel a warmth I am certain the sun knows nothing about.
.
I notice the days are becoming brighter, the gloomy winter sky welcomes back her sun.
I look up from the dark safety of my burrow where I have nearly forgotten what the sun feels like.
Nearly forgotten what anything feels like, for that matter.
.
Above ground, I see the cherry trees have started to blossom and the sun gets back to work sweeping the last of the winter frost away.
.
I can breathe again.
.
.
After a hard winter, I exhale.
.
.
.
I can feel again.