stone 9

I shoveled snow

light as feathers

like a man adrift

in a sea of down

and coming in

found my pocket

was full of snow

stone 8

cooking an alchemy

of disparate bits of flavor

into something new

the goal

to make poems

in this way

 

stone 7

birds’ footprints

wingtips on snow

are a strange calligraphy

I wish to read

stone 6

there is truth

within cliche

mind’s eye is limited

by all this

uncertainty

stone 5

snow soft in flightless fall

I can count each flake

for now

simple tasks become meaningful

 

stone 4

squirrels have stripped the bark

from branches long bare

in long rows, pockmarked

dust settles uneven

in places left untouched

how long before the random looks

deliberate?

stone 3

impatience hounds a person

I saw it tug at the woman’s sleeve

blow into her ear

and kick at her feet

she left

and I was next in line

stone 2

how long did it take to make

the spider’s web

that caught on my collar

as if it were waiting for me

all along?

stone 1

the christmas tree suckles the snowbank

it’s shadow is blue

winter paints with it’s own palette

year in review

january

the moon swung a bit

wide

–

february

I noticed our reflections

in the stars

and tried not to look

–

march

I tried juxtaposition

–

april

there were times

when april

ceased to be

–

may

aster in morning

paintbrush in sunset

simple sky

–

june

I tried getting close

–

july

I felt far away

–

august

angles to try

–

september

a million envelopes

sealed

–

october

there was fog

–

november

taught me how to see light

–

december

taught me to wait