"Birch" by Angie Lewin

Image posted with the permission of the artist. More of Angie Lewin's wood engravings and other works of art can be found at her website.

The trunk gently curves, like the raised arm of a conductor, or giraffe's neck. I hear music. Soothing chimes emanate from the soft, pink blossoms on a geometric bouquet. The lyrical, dotted-line interruptions in the pale bark tink, ping, and zoot. I feel as if I've encountered an alien dancer, camouflaged in the snow.