When Snow Walks In

Book excerpt: When Snow Walks In. This is Christine Candland’s third book and her first book of poetry. In her poem, Chasing the Unicorn, she takes the reader on a search through Paris ... “Is the Unicorn the dream and the lion the reality or is there much more to it than that?” Just south of Durango, in Blue Stones ... “these stones are unpolished and stitched in harmonious rows by wizards who mix sentimental alchemy and sing the songs I once knew but have since forgotten.” In Venice Beach she finds a chunk of transparent aquamarine ... “Reaching into a basket of shells ... reminds me of those sea glass earrings I wear when I think of you, wondering where those pieces began their journey.” “In Faces ... “I never knew how to capture the soft pattern of buttered skin with the ease of a graphite stroke. Never recognized stern profiles resilient to nocturnal lullabies.” And When Snow Walks In, while seated in a nearby café, Candland reaches for her pen and paints to capture the elusive figure ... “Study the porcelain of her face, shade the lips, dark brown hair with streaks of mandarin.” Reminding us that images are all around to be captured through sight and sound and experienced again and again.