Thursday, April 02, 2009

Let go, Winter!

In the North Country winter, nature provides us
With only a soothing palette
Which by April has become monotonous,
A tapestry of threads of
Brown dirt,
White snow,
Gray sky,
Darker gray branches
Weaving upward with interlocking fingers,
Neutral dark green fir trees, spruce and pine
Spearing the sky.

Look closely
Before complaining bitterly:
This tapestry is shot through with
The bright blue flash of a pair of jays,
Iridescent green of a wood duck's neck,
(Sitting in our uncovered pool)
Drunken fruit cocktail in the sky
Mornings before rain,
And the tiniest shoots of spring green -
Of crocus
And snowdrops
Promising purple and orange and pink.

And that promise
Will have to suffice
As winter's snow quilt melts away
And spring's light counterpane of green
Grows to cover the landscape.

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