Sliver of Brightmess

Gray sky is pregnant
Laden with whirling snowflakes
Scheduled to descend.

 

The tree limbs lift up
Raising their piny branches
To the lordly sky.

 

Inside the dark barn
A tiny slice of light gleams--
Sliver of brightness.

 

 He has a question;
As he  pokes head through the fence,
But can't get it out.

 

Errant wooden slat
Lies at the base of the fence.
Leaves will cover it.

 

Rotting mother log
Blooms as if it is Spring time,
While winter draws near.

 

Stump congregation
Dissolves, sinks into the earth.
What trace will it leave?

Two dead leaves are trapped
By slender naked fingers.
They will not escape.

A Gift to the World

 

Hovering near freezing
There is no frost on the ground.
Brown is the color.

 

Through the tree tops
A faded blue sky shows.
It matches my mood.

No ducks on the pond;
Only reflections of reeds
And the sunless sky.

Chaos of branches
Blossoms on the neat front lawn.
Wind has had its way.

Dead vines on dead tree
Seem to be strangling it,
Even in its death.

Among the brown leaves
White bag of garbage was strewn.
(What thought was there here?)

Neatly stacked bottles
Stand empty by the roadside;
A gift to the world.

Patch of dark earth
Amid oceans of brown leaves
Raises some questions.

Beyond the Tree Line

 Beyond the tree line
Susan hauls a wheelbarrow--
Lugs it out of sight.

 

 Forsythia bush
Has become a cloud of brown
Shedding a dim light.

 

 Olivia sits
Staring out of the barn door--
A bovine statue.

 

 This overcast sky,
Shiny red berries spring out
From the sleeping bush.

 

 Near this silent road
The soft sound of stream water
And woodpecker throb.

 

 The woods are singing
All around the dim gray road
High pitched tuneless tune.

 

Just a few snow flakes
Float and vanish before me.
(Were they ever there?)

 

Disappearing 2
Slides slowly into the ground.
Soon will be zero.

 

Shadows on the Shell

 

There's so much to do,
But the bright sun and shadows
Pull like a siren.

 

 My wobbling table
Reminds me again and again:
"Nothing is stable."

Shadows on the shell;
Webs weave below the Buddha
(And he's still smiling.)

Shadows on the road;

Warm, acrid smell of wood smoke;

Hens cluck in their coop. 

Time for gloves again
One more layer between me
And the naked road.

Green leaves in the cold
Defying winter's approach
Continue to glow.

Flash of tiny wings
Flee swiftly across the road;
Then the hawk takes leave.

The two stump buddies
Seem to be growing apart--
Ravages of age.

When did this tree fall?
How long before it dissolves
Into its mother?

Flutters Towards Nowhere

 

At first a light glow-
Sun is playing hard to get;
And then soft grayness.

 

A quiet whiteness
Laying across my front lawn
Cradles the brown leaves.

 

 



A line of pine cones
Guarding the edge of the road
Against intruders.

 

Why does Mabel bark?
Wave her tail at everything
As long as it moves?

 

The standing dead tree
Nurtures the vibrant green vines
That twine around it.

 

What has Ghost eaten?
He's left his two calling cards
At edge of the road.

 

Solitary moth
Braving the wind and the cold
Flutters towards nowhere.

 

A peaked witch's hat
Now on the groaning mailbox.
What holiday's next?