Crisp quiet morning;
Just electric meter hums.
Then, a flock of birds.

Surrounded by snow,
Stone Buddha meditating.
Is he shivering?

Sunlight seems frozen;
Still shadows fall on the snow.
There is no motion.

There are no creatures;
Even the birds are quiet.
Squirrel leaps from a roof.

Solitary crow
Caws across the frozen sky.
There is no response.

Footprints in the snow
Fading--growing indistinct;
Frozen memories.












Translucent and green--
Fir tree in the winter sun,
Glowingly alive.

Single red berries
Hang from the bramble bushes;
Lonely coloring.