Chalks of birch
lambent, lean
in a cuticle moon's unclouded glare;
a thrash of branches, tossing, click
like strings of dice
in tumbling air.

Welting winds
hector the snow,
glossing its downy quilt with a crust,
buffer hibernates from stalactite blades,
as winterlude
fulfills a trust.

Enameled snow
cushions sleepers
curled in burrows for nature's curfew-
beyond the soil's sharp cutlery of ice
woodchucks and toads
doze deep in queue.

06/10/2012