Liquid Mirrors Lie

Road is shiny moist;
Layers of gray clouds above;
Electric wires hum.












On the maple tree
Plastic bottles hang for sap;
Play rope hangs nearby.

Coming round the bend--
Pick up truck with tires whooshing;
Dim lights in the mist.







Clear drops on branches
Hanging precariously;
Small dog wants to play.










Liquid mirrors lie
Reflecting the trees above them;
Road water glistens.













Hill's receding snow
Reveals bottles, cans, cartons:
Man's embellishments.

Honking from the pond
Loud goose signals to others:
"Found a landing place."












Banged, bent, and beaten
Garbage can sits on the driveway;
Did it deserve this?












Sign says it clearly:
"Rassing Rictly Forbidden";
Nature's editor.

Gray the morning road;
Gray, gray the thick cloud hanging;
Warm barn manure smell.

Bottom of the road
Lone blue wrapped newspaper lies.
Above, geese honking.







White turns into brown;
Snow blanket is retreating.
Where is it going?

Head bowed over snow
Stone saint watches winter.
Does it pray for spring?

Neatly on snow bank
Two large round turds have been placed
By a tidy dog.












Surviving winter
Two shelf fungi are now black--
Ghosts of autumn past.

Hidden in the woods
Staccato gun shots ring out--
Hollow sound of fear.











At the edge of snow
Rusty gizmo is revealed
Still doing nothing.

Near the gray snow bank
Crushed plastic bottle lies:
Winter's end debris.

Small birds chirp lightly;
Others swoop to melting snow;
Plane hums overhead.

Wind blows up the road
Carrying the cries of geese.
It seems much too soon.

Snow is receding
Exposing layers of brown;
Spring is still waiting.








The woods uncover,
Exposing soggy dead leaves
And hopeful green moss

Leaning green lawn chair
Resting back against a tree,
There all winter long.

Large brand new mailbox
Sits strangely among old ones;
New kid on the block.








Old stump friends are back
Still discussing the beer can
Thrust into their midst.

By the shade of trees
Ice clings by the running stream,
Its season's ending.

White spot in the air
Joined by others floating by;
There still will be snow.

Gray Ghosts on a Misty Morning

Soft misty morning;
Gray ghosts take over the trees.
Owl hoots far away.

Ahead there's blankness;
Mist absorbs all sight and sound.
Then the rushing stream.

I strain for a sound;
Fog envelopes everything.
My ears are ringing.

The woods are soggy;
Water comes from all around,
Flowing and seeping.












The familiar bend,
Mysterious in the fog.
Unseen dog barks.

Is it mist or rain?
Soft moisture touches my face.
Clouds are descending.












Racing by the road,
Small waterfalls tumble down
Rushing to spring time.

With its fog lights on
Pick up truck swishes past me
Its tires slap wetly.

Inside, the goats bleat;
Outside, warm pungent hay smell;
I head for my door.

Humming transformer
Breaks through the morning stillness;
In the blue sky--a plane.

Like fuzzy statue
Schnauzer sits still on the snow;
Must have a cold butt.








On the frozen road
Spider webs of ice spin out,
Ornate--treacherous.












Nobody's here now;
Door swung open blocked by snow;
Next door the dogs bark.







Patches of dark ice
Spread out along the roadside
Almost blending in.

The snow bank's ridges
Are cast darkly on the road--
A joke of the sun.

After the deluge
Water drips through exposed roots;
Stream bubbles again.

From beneath the snow
Water rushes next to road--
Solid to liquid.

Racing down the rocks
Water falls relentlessly
Surrounded by snow.

White line in the sky
Cutting across the blue heaven
Fading instantly.

Digging and chirping
Little people shovel snow--
It's all just a game.

Sun plays hide and seek;
Wood smoke drifts over the roof;
Lone dove coos on wire.

Mirrors in the stream
Reflect the icy gray sky
And shimmer slowly.

Green and flourishing:
Ivy on the snow capped trunk
Defying winter.








Overwhelmed by snow
Back of the mailbox peeks out--
No delivery.

Winding through the rock
The slim tree trunk emerges
To reach for the sky.












Now covered with snow
Abandoned nest high in the tree.
Two crows caw in woods.

In the road ahead
Deer runs to the other side
In blink of an eye.












Bowed down by the snow
Fir tree almost touches ground--
Homage to winter.

Birds are singing now;
Sun is out, snow fall has stopped.
A car slushes past.






Sleek mound in the snow
Curves and bends like a sculpture;
A car is beneath.

Falling white snow clumps
Detach themselves from the trees,
Land with a whisper.









The driveways are closed;
Dried lilacs are capped with snow;
Only cars make noise.

Descending snow clumps
Burst silently on the road;
Then whirling white wisps.









Gnarled one eyed tree stump
Stares dolefully through the snow
At endless whiteness.

Snow fills old washer
But it is already clean;
Just has to sit there.

Now the sun is warm;
Large snow clumps fall with a crash.
The icicles drip.

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.