The First Winter
In Haiku
(C)2002 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
Restless branches reach
a zephyr’s eager fingers
beckon for winter
Thunder gallops down
tumbling purple clouds in roar
sudden neon light
Round the bend keen fear
massive antlers huge black moose
calmly continues
White sky feathers float
ice crystals in free form dance
around steamy panes
Frozen stars unveil
lavish quilt of silent snow
train whistle echoes
Beans bubble on stove
chop kindling write in lamplight
power out warm bed
Colors in bright bouquets
instant winter house gardens
clothes drying on racks
Nimble tracks in snow
thin lanky wolf bounds away
our plump hen dangles
Fierce fire lights sky
consumes house, melts metal roof
tanker comes too late
Ancient postmistress
amid loaves of hot wheat bread
sells stamps by wood stove
Ceaseless eerie roar
old cabin quakes, loose tin flaps
split pine cracks hen house
Gray steel shore to shore
fresh snow skitters in sharp wind
old fishermen wait
Rumbling bookmobile
folks like sardines in tin can
sweets for winter souls
Wind chimes alarm cat
half out sniffs suspicious breeze
clutches windowsill
Slow snowy steps crunch
mile of deer tracks, forest frost
iced mailbox empty
Pale light on iced road
fifty white glazed mountain miles
slow and anxious ride
Wide frozen lake gleams
ospreys watch for prey below
only gray clouds move
Earth frozen rock hard
kitchen freezer small blue box
daughter’s tears melt me
Destined for freezer
waits through four month winter snow
steer in thin March sun
Slow five miles on ice
highway dumpsters filled to brim
push hard make it fit
Misty firs at dawn
lacy silken tasseled shawls
grey velvet gowns float
Choir of splendid lights
white stars ascend night’s full stage
pure timbre quivers
Fervent creek plunges
headlong down frosty ravine
orchestra for spring
Long swollen winter
four month clouds blow thinner now
newborn sun bursts through
Expose naked earth
snowbound young deer four months dead
cold sun no mercy
Snowy night dress drops
chaste and new in pale bare sun
naked earth opens
Van slithers snake like
mud thick as oatmeal slips slick
wild ride down mountain
Jigsaw puzzle earth
emerges between snowbanks
last year’s death observed
Fresher greens sprinkle
light amidst woods slate and moss
eager new limbs stretch
Gears shift down mud splash
valley echoes spring sound flung
jeep struggles up hill
Sharp claws clutch roof line
icicles captive in sun
weep slow narrow tears
Weak sun melts the snow
from the faded gray earth peers
one purple crocus
(C) 2002 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
