Sun paints the birch tree;
Bird flutters in the brambles;
Warm smell of moist hay.

Shadows on snow bank;
Black stream cutting through white--
Winter monochrome.










A fat little bird
Preens itself in the bushes,
Cares not about me.

Patches of sunshine
Fall freely upon the snow:
Casual largess.

Nestled in tree crotch
A round piece of icy white;
A snowy slingshot.












Bursting from chimney
Wood smoke catches the sunlight--
Shadows in the air.

Full Moon in Leo

Cradled by branches
Full moon rests on winter night;
Now it owns the sky.

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.

Everything's frozen--
Solid snow covers car windows;
White field like a rock.

A black dog barks past;
Rolling in the quiet car.
It's just a puppy.

Even slush is hard:
Gray dirt sprinkles are frozen--
Invisible tableau.

High on the dead tree
Line shines through the old brown trunk:
Mystery portal.











A hand lettered sign:
"Ice Fishing Derby" today.
Where can the fish hide?

Encrusted with ice
Bird's nest is covered with snow.
Memory of chicks.

My dog friend Bella
Comes wriggling to greet me;
Leaves her mark in snow.









Shadows on the snow
Sharpen with the fleeting sun.
Here for a second.

Sun falls on the snow;
Barn is lit up and glowing;
Warm smell of manure.

Two birds circling,
Chasing each other crying.
What are they saying?

The sun softens all,
Painting the world with light strokes;
Even trash looks good.

The ancient mailbox,
Topped with a thick cap of snow
Glowing in the sun.

Stomping behind me
The jogging jogger jogs past
Gulping icy air.

Tapping in the woods:
Small pieces of ice shatter--
Splat! Right on this page!

Long tree shadows fall
Stretching out upon the snow;
Then a puff of white.

Weighed down by whiteness
Fir trees bow down their branches.
Coyotes howling.

From the dark barn door
Cow walks gingerly in snow,
Then promptly turns back.









Softly, gracefully
Large white clumps fall to the ground--
All sight and no sound.

Woods are deserted;
There is only falling snow--
Blanket of silence.

The fat U.P.S. truck
Meets the giant snow plow.
Which one will give way?

Together, heads bowed
Cluster of tree snow statues--
Natural sculpture.












It is a dish now:
Shelf fungus catches the snow
And serves up whiteness.

Rumble far away;
Train whistle cuts through the snow
Tearing the silence.

Buried by the snow:
Dead, ripped and twisted creature
Almost out of sight.

"No Trespassing" sign
Crumbling on the tree trunk;
Loud bird flock above.











Swift water glistens
Over the green mossy rock:
Irresistible.

They say it will snow;
Now the sky is blue, sun shines.
Which is fantasy?












Gray-beige shelf fungus
Is now part of the tree--
Natural marriage.

Caught in the tree bark
Dead leaf sticks like a message
From the wind or God.

Mist above the trees
Softens the distant mountain.
Frost makes bushes shine.

Sound of a chain saw;
Pick-up stinks noisily past--
Then shadows and sun.

Limbs twisted and ripped
Body lies just off the road,
Featureless in death.

Crow caws, rooster crows;
Small birds twitter in the trees.
Rooster crows again.

In the pond's mirror
Barn windows peer vacantly.
No animals move.

Man and two spaniels;
He smiles, chats and is friendly.
The dogs are wary.












Porch light in the sun
Now lights up only itself.
A giant crow caws.

Sun tracks on the snow
Light up the pine forest floor
But do not melt it.

The snow has melted
Revealing the forest trail
Of soft pine needles.

Dead tree standing tall
Soaks sunshine the others
But no leaves catch it.

Cloud wisps in the sky
Float slowly across the blue.
Birds twitter and sing.

Dark Empty Spaces

Munching noiselessly
Goat watches me watching him;
Both of us contented.

A little colder--
Snow ponds glisten into ice.
Still, the raucous streams.









A large empty cage
Abandoned on the driveway
Imprisons the air.

There is no wind now;
Even the dead leaves hang still--
All sounds seem distant.

Catching some sunshine,
Ice melts off the layered rock--
The drips glisten.









In trees, under trees,
Beneath rocks and under ground:
Dark empty spaces.









Two doggy brothers
Sit together on the hill
Always communing.

Dark squirrel on white snow
Noiselessly scurries across
Only to vanish.

Reflections

In the fields brown rules
Pushing back the melting snow.
Wind howls nervously.

Snow ponds are forming;
Clouds reflect in the water
Then they disappear.











Water's everywhere:
In the loud torrential stream
And patient snow banks.








Wind chases the clouds--
Now the road is bright and warm,
Now it's gray and cold.

Wind drowns out the streams--
A roaring beast in the woods;
Leaves scatter in fright.

The world is gray now;
Misty drops caress my face;
Hollow wind deafens.

Dead leaves are racing,
Blowing from woods across road--
Frantically nowhere.

Rivaling the snow
White birch tree stands in the sun.
(But it will not melt).

Path is slippery;
All the ice has disappeared
Leaving water skin.









Tracks criss cross the field;
Soon they will melt in the sun--
January thaw.

Sparkling in the sun,
Stream carries the melting snow--
Persistent water.

Snow bank and the fence
Meet at the side of the road.
(And the fence buckles).

From imprisoned woods
Shots echo through the chain link fence.
Do they shoot poachers?

With the melting snow
Forest path is revealed first
Worn by ghostly feet.











Cold at the road's bend
Winter's trapped in the valley.
I treck up to warmth.

A bucket of warmth
Billows out upon the road
Caressing my cheeks.

Hiding in the tree
A dark heart peers from the bark:
Early Valentine.