Cold – Page 50 – Iron Haiku

air laced with woodsmoke
thick with a rich silence as
the rain turns to snow
–
twilight
listening to
the snow fall

the low midday sun
shadows of geese noiselessly
passing overhead
–
dancing water
a clingy black shift
of morning ice

the hours before dawn
weaving my way back home through
the thinnest of light
–
gently becoming
as one with
the winter sky

a ring tailed hawk watching
the curve of the crescent moon
emerge from the mist
–
the full moon
silhouetted
against the night

budding at long last
relationships long buried
exposed to the light
–
tawney pine straw
a squirrel caches
his winter stores

jewel in the lotus
tibetan prayer wheels turned by
cascades of water
–
a winter dawn
snow skates across
the temple threshold

wet and matted hair
cold rain, hot blood, and cordite
soak into the dirt
–
a sparrow-
perched on
a ruined shell

the last vestige
of the sinking evening sun
sets the sky alight
–
painted hillsides
a winding road turns
though burning leaves

ice over fresh snow
the delicate crust holds me
momentarily
–
warm green grass
a raindrop rolls
down my cheek

an icy black rain
the autumn harvest freezes
while still in the field
–
a desert night
cold hard water
feeds the fire