The Winter Forest

The winter forest is an enchanted
glistening landscape of
chilled silence, muffled and
deeply peaceful. Contoured in
its serene season of rest.

A gust creates an ectoplasmic
drift slowly unburdening
a laden spruce bough.
A lone crow leisurely crests
over steep forest spires.

Tiny chickadees flit
among the trees,
a companion nuthatch
minding their order.

The sky's blue canopy
ribboned by evanescently
diffused clouds as lightly
transparent as the snow
below is opaque, fully
blanketing the frozen earth.

Today's languid wind chill
far less urgent, small wildlife
come suddenly awake to a
day of sun and glorious prospects.

Mice and voles burrow deep
under the warm weight of
their enveloping comforter.
Late-season wildflowers
nod their winter-dried heads.

The forest stream lies hushed
and frozen, glinting back
the sun's crystalline shine,
banked with snow drifts.