Winter Trees

In changing seasons, changing scenes,

From sturdy limbs once clothed in greens,

The stately trees have loosed their hold

On leaves turned scarlet, orange and gold.

 

For some, winter dulls the senses -

Blocking beauty, building fences.

But winter skies with clear blue light

Reveal a wondrous, classic sight.

 

Sleek silhouettes make earth and sky

A canvas drawing in the eye,

To see the form and armature

Upon which other seasons moor.

 

From afar on rolling ridge-line

Branches thick seem branches fine.

The lacy finger-fans of limbs

Are delicate, like dainty trims.

 

Near roadside more can now be seen-

A dearth of leaves, no hiding screen.

And so the ragged nests appear,

Like paint dabs spattered there and here.

 

Tapering trunk with spreading bough

Displays a waiting, watching owl.

And near a red-tailed hawk sits high

With turning head to scan the sky.

 

The spring, summer and autumn woods

Inspire in some creative moods,

But winter's stark revealing tree

Shows a beauteous world to me.

 

Carol Kagan, 2011