TREES IN SNOW
Kathleen P. Decker
simple phrase
trees in snow
look closer
spiky oak branches
dull-brown, covered with thin linear deposits
luxurious head of hair, highlighted with age
tufts of white settled in niches
of dwarf arborvitae, powder puffs on its tips
shouts Christmas, even after
fire-red branches of Dogwood
tint pink the snow covering them
contrast with arborvitae, echoing Noel
contorted Filbert, catkins veiled in white
the snow-load on its corkscrew branches and stems
forms an icy Afro
all this white
colored persimmon as the sun sets
blue sky streaked with red
between gaps in the tree line
fades to grey so quickly
during the mid-winter days
earth beneath its ivory cloak
hides its buds and bugs
waiting, waiting…
perched on a fence-post
flitting to a tree
a pair of cardinals
his scarlet, her dull russet plumage
flash bright against cream
they know
spring is coming
THIS POEM IS IN: The Poetry Society of Virginia Centennial Anniversary Anthology (High Tide Publications, 2023).
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