Poems for Winter

Spring is peering in the windows this week, but winter isn’t quite ready to leave entirely. While she’s still around, here are a few poems set in winter.

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Miles to Go

I sit astride a fallen oak
not a jingle-belled horse,
but the feeling must be the same:
a quiet, intuitive ache
in my core
as I watch fat flakes 
filter through barren branches.

I, too, have more to do 
than hours in my day,
but—for now—
I set aside 
my clutter,
to do the more important work
of watching these
(still,
silent)
lovely woods
fill with snow.



The Encounter

Driving home,
my headlights find
the round eyes
of a pure white owl
perched atop a snowy kill
in the center of the road.

My heart flutters;
her wings stay tucked. 

We peer at each other
for a billowing breath,
then she lifts
silently 
leaving me with only
the shape of her wings
swept on the powdered ground
and a catch 
as small as a mouse
in my throat.



Three Winter Haiku

      Color-deprived eyes
glut on juniper berries
      when all else is gray.



On seeing the winter moon:

      Does she shine brighter
in the cold, or do I slow
      down enough to see?



      Wind nibbles my ears,
pinks my ears and bare fingers—
      scent of coming snow.

Publication credits: “The Encounter” and “On seeing the winter moon” both first appeared in Humana Obscura.

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