Last night the hard frost dropped the mulberry leaves
Leaving a thick dark green carpet underneath
Commingling with the dead oak leaves littering the yard
Seen this morning from inside where I try to keep warm.
The scene fills me with a certain familiar sadness
Knowing it will be five long months before spring leafs out
While the ever present bare limbs stand clenched against the cold
Skeleton outlines etched against the winter sky.
Looking for something to cheer me up
I read a newspaper human interest story
How a young man found his way to be a performance artist
Becoming a living statue in Washington Square this summer.
But the cold has forced him to climb down and bundle up
As the polar vortex bears down upon New York City
As our thoughts fly south anticipating our seasonal
migration
To where a body can move about with warm bones.
These days we have the choice where to reside
Leaving for months on end to follow the sun
Setting up camp in this house or that
Discovering the wildlife in the natural areas nearby.
When I was a boy I looked forward to winter
Bringing the magical ice to skate upon the pond
With lights and ornaments decorating the night
And random holidays imposed by blizzards.
I remember enjoying the camaraderie of my friend
We two who trudged about seeking who would hire us
Money earned snow shoveling soon spent
Indulging in chocolates and soda fountain excess.
Back then I did not know how everything changes
How life is a series of temporary places and people
Each one surrounding us as if in a permanent state
Making it possible to exist happily in this moment.
