Brown patches appear;
Snow banks recede in the warmth.
The earth is released.

Gray melting ice patch
Encroaches on the snow field;
Soon all will be wet.

Streams branch and rejoin
Cutting dark swathes in the snow
Chortling as they go.

Moist green forest moss
Glistens in a snow free patch;
Stream tinkles nearby.

Deer crosses the road;
We stop, stare at each other,
Then we continue.

Roadside snow is gray
Splashed with gravel and dirt.
The earth advances.

Two cans one bottle
Huddle together like friends
In a hostile wood.

My black doggy friend
Trots to me wagging its tail
And passes right by.

Rumble under snow:
Stream rushes underneath it--
Dark hidden power.