if the necessary conditions
are not met
there will be no sugar on snow
Maewyn Succat
in lieu
of four leaf clover
make do
with lichen and ice
How Long the Winter
how deep the snow
how thick the ice
how far the mountains
Voyage
a melt, the freeze, then awe
an ocean to cross
to reach the shores of spring
Shatterings
each crack and shattering
revealed new connections
and the permanence of change
Earth’s Wrinkles
water is the earth’s skin
wrinkled by the cold
marks and ridges telling time
the oldest story ever told
Each One
every flake and crystal
contributes to
the glittering
Frozen Lighting
a chandelier of ice
forms upon the pergola
In Lingering Ice
lonesome for the red winged
longing for the frogs’ calls
believing in the sun
cattails wait
Transformation’s Design
ice shows
the stop and go
of spring edging in
Lichen and Ice
a slow walk
yields
a bounty of beauty
Glittered
summoned by
fairies and sprites
ice and snow
enchant the woods
Lingering
baubles above the brook
just out of deer’s reach
last year’s apples
Embrace
time stops
as everything is held
in February’s embrace
Glazed
encased with ice
a shellacking of bark
winter’s shine and sheen
Thaw
temperatures rise
the ice parts
green reaches for the sun
Winter’s Song
earth’s orchestra plays
winter’s melody of cold
while the wind harmonizes
in ice and snow
Revealed
shadow and ice reveal
the fence’s wobbly fears
Reverie
corn stalks
skate and ski
Jacob’s Brook
water runs to the long river
singing the final refrains of its song
before it is silenced by winter
Determination
pines and reeds
hold tight to their colors
as winter whitens the landscape
Communication
rising to the surface
autumn’s message of love
Only
on the frozen marsh
where everything is holding its breath
sunlight is the only motion
Ray
a shaft of sunlight
holds the pond open
Iris in Ice
Winter persists
trying spring’s patience.
April Ice
A storm slides in
and glazes spring
freezing her in motion.
Melt
As the earth softens
spring finds hospitality
in the primordial offering of mud.
Effervescence
Beneath March’s icy hold
Spring begins her rise to the surface.
Quiet White
Winter
white washes
the woods.
Winter Bloom
The cold bears gifts
the fleeting bloom
of an ice orchid.