Thursday, February 07, 2008

Now: Light Rain and Freezing Rain and 32°F

says my blinking forecast. Sounds about right.
These past weeks are icestormy, pogonip nights
dropping tinkling crystalline dust on every surface,
sugared walks, latticelike doilies and then frozen water,
leaving crackling shellacked branches
raining icemelt in the morning warmth, quiet cracking clock-
faces in still pools, lucent medallions, ice-cakes floating into
gray days and white nights and diffuse moons, road salt and
sand walks and the plow-scrape scarring parking lots.
Hot coffee and doughnuts in the mornings before class,
I pass the rising cloud breath of crowds, looking for safe footing.
Under all this, it’s still green, anticipating the shortening shadows
marking the inching arc of the sun by day, the clasped buds
tight and pensive, motionless, waiting.

1 comment:

KLA* said...

You tricked me into reading a poem! What delicious onomatopeic wordplay you have here encasing the images and sounds and attempting to embody the icy realities of February here in the North.

Your poetry is like grandma's apple pie. No matter how full, I am always down for another one.