In My Snow Garden

In my snow-capped garden
Winter has not yet agreed to
its grudging retreat but a
newly heartened spring sun
has conspired to undo what 
cold and icy winds have wrought
aided by incoming milder
weather. A scarlet cardinal
repeatedly trills its morning
welcome and our two little dogs
rhapsodize over fascinating
fragrances emitted beneath
the retreating banks of snow.
The raccoons' night-time visits
to delicately pluck what suits
them from the garden kitchen
waste compost bespeaks a
rousing of spring arrival, as
much as the chorus of geese 
routing their arrow-straight
course in direct reversal of
their fall migratory flight.