Invisibly

I can see the white mountain
and its shadows. Three people
pass by, a woman, a girl
and a small boy. He is running, laughing
and the girl chases him with waving arms.
They speak a language
I don't recognize. The sun moves.
I begin to feel the chill.
This is progression, light
to dark, laughter to silence.
Even the mountain becomes something different,
invisibly. The swimmers
come out of the lake, and the wet dogs.
I could move back into the sun's path
but it would not last. Night
would still fall. I would shiver,
try to identify the words
of the passers-by. Give myself over
to the place of snow, the rising moon
and everything that is hidden.