Sunday, February 27, 2011

Dizzy



I am dizzy with the effort
Of looking up, head thrown back
To see the sky from an unknown point.

When the clouds drift by
They are held by the shoots of
Nascent spring.

And through the light of blinding spots
The sky clears like it never has.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Larkspurs



I am amazed.
I have lost count
Of the weeks you have thrived
On a mantel with the other objects
For my contemplation.

Through it all:
Rallies of indignation,
Torrents of snow from a birch,
And the dry eyes of my grieving patient

You are there.
And in your tiny blossoms,
Will I find the answers?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Snow at Dusk



The snow came
In drifts from the lake
And a world that was white
Was made even whiter.

Half of an elm in drapings of
Hoar and its deep gleam at dusk
A two-faced prince.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

To Meet





We meet in the middle
With the purest of intentions.
Tip to tip,
And sometimes, limb to limb,
We look for ourselves
In the other's eyes.


But our pith,
They remain untouched,
And then we are surprised
At what we do not see.

Ice Fishermen



Over ice
And under the bearded willows,
They trudge
With their cargo of sport.

And through the changes in light,
They wait.

When it's time to leave
By the glow from their lamps,
They do not see through the willows
A purer light.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Light





It is there
Although
You may not think so.
I see it in your hair
Escaped from clouds thick with the rain
That may
Or may not come.

When it has gone
Without fanfare
It is just to alight

Nearby.


Monday, February 14, 2011

February Thaw





Somewhere came the slow sound of bells,
and in its softness
I see the buttercups of spring.

Whitened, ageless, the four elms
have learned to wait,
and through the trickle of melting snow
they soar into the mist.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Birds of Winter


Were it not
For your seamless arc
Across the pale afternoon sky,
I would pause just long enough
To blink away
The random spots from my sun-blinded eyes.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Patch of Light




I woke up
to a patch of light in the dark
and strands of my hair,
wavering
as shadows,
and saw that they were all
of my making.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Another Chance


In the evening when the lights go on
and I could hear the sound
of snow falling in the dark,
I think of the sunrises I have missed,
and the vow
of not wearing out
fidelity.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Footfalls



One by one we emerged
Through doorways, alleyways, a mangled fence,
Soldiers of snow bearing shovels
With glints of metal in our eyes.

We worked by daylight
In a landscape without end,
In a silence that has not been marred
By a rivulet of mud.

And when evening came,
And the tunnels hewn,
We could again hear
Our footfalls in the snow.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Snowdrifts


So the snow fell throughout the night,
Its silence masked by a wind that did not cease
Until morning came, fringed with the snowdrifts
That will remain for as long
As we search for the answers in their depths.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Storm


It has been heralded
That the storm will come
At a fateful hour.
So we wait and watch
Behind birch and brick,
And in the rising wind
We hear the song
That will wash away
Our remaining fears.