Winter Visions

Regard the trees of a winter's day:
Leafless and angled, branched and gray
They push, straining to scratch the sky,
To challenge their god and their destiny.

Regard the trees of winter.

But regard the waters of a winter sky:
Their blue is aimless and deep, like the sea,
And their cloud black as tragedy.
They roar in the ear, and spit in the eye.

Regard the waters of winter.

But regard the stars of a winter's night,
Like diamonds burning in a like of ice,
Like emeralds, embers, or light from her eyes,
Like drops of dew in the desert light.

Regard the stars of winter.

But regard the silence in winter's voice,
Silence white as a moon in space,
Silence calm as an infant's face
As it dreams in the deep its mother's eyes.

Regard the silence in winter,
The trees, the waters, the stars of winter.
Regard the silence.

January 21-22, 1991