I walked in the snow with the pup at my side.
Running my hand across the gate impulsively,
I licked the snow on my knitted mitten–
surprised to recognize the distinctive
yarny taste of winter.
That moment on a frigid day
when February’s sun stretches–
touching the drifting snows
and the running river waters
with an embrace of a long-lost friend.
Your tiny tracks
play hide and seek with the winter wind.
They appear before my own prints
and are swept away from behind, made invisible.
I wonder at the significance of this–
Picking you up, I climb the
steep steps slowly one by one.
This monochromatic scene stares at me
for weeks on end in the deep winter.
And although I find it beautiful and serene,
what I wouldn’t do to see a ruby red poppy
jutting out defiantly from the snows.
Morning daydreams chase the falling snow
in swirls of good intentions and solid ambitions–
with a sprinkling of old books, soft music and
cups of hot, honeyed tea, I settle down to
work with the pup at my feet.