This Is Nature

This is the season of short days
and long dark nights where
prevailing cold seeps into every
orifice until the forest's
snowpack is sufficiently
elevated to offer meager but
effective haven to its creatures
seeking to isolate themselves
from the inclemency of
winter. The icier the atmosphere
the more prevalent skies of
cerulean blue and a sun
sailing low on the horizon
its rays penetrating tantalizingly
through a denuded forest canopy
to illuminate tree trunks
skeletal and dark against the
snow that has infiltrated the
forest raising the level of the
forest floor its virgin whiteness
guiding predators to the presence
of their hapless victims as
nature in its truest form
raw and impermanent advantages
the bold and fails the vulnerable.
But in that brief interval when
daylight reigns what wonders
to be seen in the landscape
what incomparable beauty.