the thaw …

When the thaw happens, it happens all at once. * Almost two months ago now. We go walking in the woods:  me, T and two dear friends.  New-fallen snow lines every limb and leaf.  The light is pale silver; the air cold, but not too cold. Like Winter is making up its mind. * We have […]

defiance …

The birds come back first, though it’s seven degrees out. I watch them:  raucous, small-bodied rebels, singing in the trees.  Red-breasted balls of blue fluff, they wear their colors as a dare — an act of defiance against February’s gray. I watch them:  hopping.  Chattering.  They warble and catcall, leaving a complicated series of footprints on […]