An icicle
appeared overnight outside my kitchen window recently. I admired it from my
viewpoint at the sink as I swished my dishes around in warm soapy water. It was
almost as long as the window – about three feet. I took a picture of the icicle,
because I admired it so. Then, more intense winter precipitation added layers
to the icicle. It grew, both in girth and length. I was amazed by its tenacity as it clung by icy fingernails to the snow-covered roof’s edge. My husband took a
tape measure out one day and reported it was “pretty close to six feet.” Day after
day, I admired Mother Nature’s work of art.
Being a
writer, I thought I could use the icicle as a simile or a metaphor. The Robert Frost poem, “Fire and Ice” which I used to teach to my
students in my American Literature class came to mind. If you have not read the poem, it presents the arguments of
some people who believe the world will end in either fire or ice.
Read the
poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44263/fire-and-ice
In his
poem, Frost used “ice” to depict world destruction by hate. My icicle could be analogized in that way. It
began cold and small, as hate sometimes does. Then just as other people sometimes jump on the bandwagon to embrace hateful beliefs, small droplets of moisture attached themselves to the
icicle, creating a cold monster. My icicle could also be a symbol of
destruction. I detoured around
it rather than walk underneath it on my way to the mailbox.
Then one day,
temperatures rose above freezing, and drops of water dripped off of the shrinking
icicle. I imagined, still using the analogy of ice equaling hate, the
hate was melting away and becoming more logical and grounded there among the
river rock at the edge of my house. I thought about people who become educated about an issue or become acquainted with specific individuals instead
of spewing hatred towards a whole group of people. I imagined the water sinking
into my lawn and beginning a grassroots effort to bring renewed life and love
to next spring.
I pray
that the hate in our world will melt away as well.