Winter retreat...

The last Saturday of the month is Open Link Night  at dversepoets.com and we are all writing what we are feeling, thinking, or celebrating this holiday season.  There will be a well deserved break until after the New Year, when the hosts who tend bar will open the doors in again in January 2015.




I've waited for snow laden firs
edged in hunter green,
to see the white owl blend into 
a bank of birch trees
Whose design was it - who opted 

for a palette white,
then threw in blues skies as backdrop,
with bright stars at night? 






I've waited for the wind to brush 
white powder from boughs
cedar, spin it into tempests
that whirl from fence posts
to a newly made white meadow
As I've seen icicles melting,
drip by drip, my heart 
miraculously keeps thumping; 
I breathe in and out

I've waited to hear loud cracks of
ice laden branches 
I have scattered mixed nuts and seeds, 
watched them disappear 
I've seen dried, shriveled
leaves skip across the crusty snow,
turning sharp cartwheels, 
darting in and out crevices
of the broken barn

I've heard a tree fall with a thump
loud in the dark night,
seen acres of shimmering snow
reflecting the sun

I've waited for the fabric of 
chickadee feathers 
that closely mimics a man's suit  -
with a cheery orange 
and chestnut accent on his wing 

I've waited for days of winter
the peace of solstice
warmed by a mulled hot cider mug
and a warm bonfire
Today as the earth is turning,
I'll look out to sea
And I'll be waiting for the spring - 
when my heart flies with butterflies
as they emerge from their retreat