Morning light on snow;
Sharp shadows on the barn roof;
A cloudless blue sky.







Frozen mounds of snow
Stand like statues in the field.
The children have gone.

Sparkling ice flowers
Bloom within the running stream.
They are relentless.

Snow ghost on the stump
Peers blankly through the brambles.
A school bus drives past.

Motionless red flash
Makes the brambles come to life;
Cardinal is waiting.











In the bare brambles
Frozen piece of snow is trapped--
February prey.

Hanging by a thread
Dead leaf trembles in the wind.
Why does it survive?

Buried in snow bank
Trash can and mailbox emerge--
A work in progress.

Sculptured white and brown
Twisted tree transformed by snow.
Crow sits beyond it.










Icy stream still runs
Cutting through the frozen banks--
Black swath--endless white.

Beaten up mailbox
Choked with and covered with snow.
Nobody is home.












An endless driveway
Winds through the whitened forest;
Soundless snow clumps fall.

Falling to the road
Snow clumps burst into whiteness
Like stars descending.












Moving up the tree
Snow seems to be ascending;
A winter secret.

Wooden tentacles
Surround the tree and reach out
Seeking to entwine.

Hanging ice flowers
Bloom again over the stream,
Translucent and changed.

The road is empty;
Two crows caw from their high perch.
Snow falls without sound.

Whiteness everywhere;
Silent lines of snow slant down.
Look! There are footprints!









With an open mouth
The mailbox sticks out its tongue
And catches the snow.

Now the flakes are large;
One catches on my eyelid
And then disappears.












Ahead in the snow:
Woman with green umbrella.
(She's from the city).

High above the snow
A plane hums along its way
Leaving white silence.

Trees are frosted white;
Branches are no longer bare--
Silhouettes of snow.

The car moves slowly,
Crawling on the whitened road--
Power of snow flakes.

It's a 3-D day;
Snow bank shadows are sharpened;
Sun gives the trees depth.

Car stops near me;
Dear old friend extends his hand.
We touch and depart.









Slush is crystalline,
Frozen solid glistening.
Beyond, the stream runs.

Car slowly crackles,
Backing out of the driveway;
Then rushes away.









Dark swooping shadows
Caress the curving snow banks.
Dead leaves shake in wind.

Black and white cat sits
Near the snow, next to white house:
Black on white on white.

Here the water runs
Under an icicle bridge--
Its frozen cousin.

Cloud has crossed the sun;
A chill wind blows in my ears.
Now it's bright again.

February Snow Shadows

Shadows on the snow;
Puffy clouds in the blue sky.
Schnauzer does not bark.

Rushing stream is hushed,
Running dark through the snow banks,
Snaking through the woods.

Airplane high above
Hums like a satisfied bee;
Then its sound is gone.









Still the leaves hang on--
Brown, dry, long way from green.
Will they never fall?

Frozen yellow patch:
Historical document
On frozen snow block.

Clinging to the rock
The ice grows like white lichen
Imitating plants.









In a puff of gas
The pickup truck chugs past me;
A passenger turns.










Delicate shadows--
Branches etched upon the snow
Fade with passing sun.

Jogger pounds the road
As she's plugged into I-Pod;
Eyes shut, sees nothing.

Sun breaks through the clouds--
Small slit in the heavy gray.
Wood smoke's acrid smell.

Below the gray sky
Birds speed with their high pitched cries;
The stream is gushing.









Tossed upon the road
A crumpled piece of paper--
Lost origami.

Roaming in his cage
The dog has nothing to do
Until he sees me.

Brambles in the snow
Become their own silhouettes--
Two D or not Two D?

Dog in the distance
Barks at something or other;
Keeps himself busy.

With arms outstretched
Phantom takes over the tree
Surveying the road.

Crystalline snow field
Reflects the bright morning sun;
The shadows stand still.





I take off my gloves
And my fingers start to freeze
In just three seconds.

The stream is frozen,
Plates of gray ice cover it;
Still, there's a trickle.

Trees creak in the wind
Blowing frozen through the woods.
Today, the ice rules.

No sign of slush now;
Frozen gray lumps line the road.
There's no softness.

Fallen sharp shadows
Etch lines in the snowy woods;
Frozen wind murmurs.

Footprints in the snow
Lead up the winding driveway;
No car has gone there.









Caught in the fir tree
The empty box hangs loosely
Showing it's useless.

Red ribbon on tree
Not put there by rain or sun.
What is it doing?

Black on field of white
Bush branches emerge from snow.
Their time will soon come.

Stream rumbles below;
Airplane lumbers in the sky;
Dog barks inside house.

Sky is solid gray;
Cars keep rushing swiftly by
Fleeing from something.

An icy stillness
Pervades the air, ground and woods.
Old dog sits in road.







Discarded rake lies,
Part on snow, part on dead leaves;
Its work has been done.

Dripping icicles
Hanging from the old rock's face
Like frozen whiskers.








Subterranean
Water flows beneath the ice
Leaving just its sound.

Rushing water sound
Of frothy billowing stream
Cutting through silence.

Ghost trees in the mist
Hang softly from the thick sky;
Below--rushing streams.

Car fumes in the air
Linger long after the car.
Inside, t.v. glows.












Tumbling down the rocks
Water races to its source
Beyond sight and sound.

Blue gray morning mist
Surrounds the trees in the woods:
A cloud come to earth.












Hidden bend ahead
Cloaked in the thick morning mist
Clears as I approach.

Slender hanging branch
Dances as it touches stream
Racing under ice.

Lying on the ice sheet--
Plastic covered newspapers.
They are not slipping.

Floating through the trees--
Soft dots descend from the sky.
World is gray and white.








Black squares define snow;
Empty spaces of "isn't"--
Presence of absence.












Glowing pink on white
Dog's toy abandoned on snow.
Neon winter scene.












White swirls on the road--
Windswept form of falling snow.
Car creeps slowly by.

Swift car ignoring
The hushed falling snow
Speeds from here to there.

Lying on the snow
The two dark branches stand out.
Starkness in winter.

Tree grows around stone;
Its roots embrace the old rock,
Rocking it gently.

Old twisted dead tree,
Possessed by spirits today
Grimaces in snow.

They say they'll be rain;
Even the barn doors are shut;
Sky is dark and closed.

Perfunctory bark;
Bird is dark against the dark sky;
Ice pings on the road.

On dark stream water
Falling ice causes ripples,
Breaking the mirror.

Car rushes past,
Tires swishing in the road;
Then all falls silent.

Now the birds are gone;
Woods seem empty of all life.
Ice is everywhere.

Caught in the tree's crotch
Dead limbs hang above the ground--
A wooden embrace.

Rising straight upward
Gray wood smoke untouched by wind
Doesn't even smell.

Rumbling breaks the air.
Is it a fleet of bombers
Or a distant train?